Wesley Morriston
University of Colorado, Boulder, Philosophy, Faculty Member
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If God commanded something that would ordinarily be classified as a terrible evil, would we have a moral obligation to obey? In two previous articles in this journal, I examined and evaluated several different ways in which a divine... more
If God commanded something that would ordinarily be classified as a terrible evil, would we have a moral obligation to obey? In two previous articles in this journal, I examined and evaluated several different ways in which a divine command theorist might answer this question. Richard Brian Davis and W. Paul Franks have now provided a vigorous rebuttal, in which they argue that my way of handling the relevant counterpossible conditionals is flawed, and that a divine command theorist who avails herself of the metaphysical platform of theistic activism can consistently say that if (per impossibile) God were to command some terrible evil, it would not be the case that we have a moral obligation to do it. In the present article, I clarify my own view and defend it against Davis and Franks's objections. I also argue that the core claim of theistic activism – that there would be nothing at all if there were no God – does not have all the dramatic implications that Davis and Franks cla...
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This paper elaborates and defends an argument for saying that if God is necessarily good (morally perfect in all possible worlds), then He does not have the maximum conceivable amount of power and so is not all-powerful. It considers and... more
This paper elaborates and defends an argument for saying that if God is necessarily good (morally perfect in all possible worlds), then He does not have the maximum conceivable amount of power and so is not all-powerful. It considers and rejects several of the best-known attempts to show that necessary moral perfection is consistent with the requirements of omnipotence, and concludes by suggesting that a less than all-powerful person might still be the greatest possible being.Great is your power, and your wisdom is immeasurable. Psalm 147.5
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In a series of much discussed articles and books, William Lane Craig defends the view that the past could not consist in a beginningless series of events. In the present paper, I cast a critical eye on just one part of Craig's case... more
In a series of much discussed articles and books, William Lane Craig defends the view that the past could not consist in a beginningless series of events. In the present paper, I cast a critical eye on just one part of Craig's case for the finitude of the past – viz. his philosophical argument against the possibility of actually infinite sets of objects in the ‘real world’. I shall try to show that this argument is unsuccessful. I shall also take a close look at several considerations that are often thought to favour the possibility of an actual infinite, arguing in each case that Craig's response is inadequate.
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In response to an earlier paper of mine, T. J. Mawson has argued that omnipotence is logically incompatible with wrong-doing, ‘whilst accepting that there is “a genuine, active power knowingly to choose evil” and thus leaving room for a... more
In response to an earlier paper of mine, T. J. Mawson has argued that omnipotence is logically incompatible with wrong-doing, ‘whilst accepting that there is “a genuine, active power knowingly to choose evil” and thus leaving room for a free-will defence to the problem of evil’. Here, I attempt to show that Mawson is mistaken on both counts – that his argument for the incompatibility of omnipotence and wrong-doing is defective, and that the free-will defence cannot be sustained on the ground marked out by him. Given Mawson's understanding of power and freedom, I argue that it would be possible for God to create persons who are both free and unable to make evil choices.
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According to J. L. Schellenberg, sceptical faith in the Ultimate is not merely permitted, but is rationally required. It is, all things considered, the response that we should make. In this article, I assess just three of... more
According to J. L. Schellenberg, sceptical faith in the Ultimate is not merely permitted, but is rationally required. It is, all things considered, the response that we should make. In this article, I assess just three of Schellenberg's arguments for this bold conclusion. I explain why I find each of them unpersuasive.
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Tim Mawson argues that the ability to choose what one knows to be morally wrong is a power for some persons in some circumstances, but that it would be a mere liability for God. The lynchpin of Mawson's argument is his claim that... more
Tim Mawson argues that the ability to choose what one knows to be morally wrong is a power for some persons in some circumstances, but that it would be a mere liability for God. The lynchpin of Mawson's argument is his claim that a power is an ability that it is good to have. In this rejoinder, I challenge this claim of Mawson's, arguing that choosing a course of action is always an exercise of power, whether or not it is good for one to have that power. I then go on to develop an argument for saying that if (for the reasons presented by Mawson) it is not good for God to have the ability to make evil choices, then it isn't good for us to have it either, in which case the free-will defence is unsustainable.
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Job's complaint and God's Answer from the Whirlwind are described in some detail, and several traditional interpretations are considered and rejected. In the end, I claim that the book of Job moves back and forth between quite different... more
Job's complaint and God's Answer from the Whirlwind are described in some detail, and several traditional interpretations are considered and rejected. In the end, I claim that the book of Job moves back and forth between quite different and conflicting ideas about God and providence. On the one hand, we have a God who cares about the doings of particular men like Job. On the other hand, we have a God who is too big, too mysterious, too wholly other, for anything like that to make sense.
Job's complaint and God's Answer from the Whirlwind are described in some detail, and several traditional interpretations are considered and rejected. In the end, I claim that the book of Job moves back and forth between quite different... more
Job's complaint and God's Answer from the Whirlwind are described in some detail, and several traditional interpretations are considered and rejected. In the end, I claim that the book of Job moves back and forth between quite different and conflicting ideas about God and providence. On the one hand, we have a God who cares about the doings of particular men like Job. On the other hand, we have a God who is too big, too mysterious, too wholly other, for anything like that to make sense.
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Imagine a "demonist" who believes that there is an omnipotent and omnimalevolent demon. One might suppose that the amount and variety of goodness in the world is sufficient to refute demonism. But my imaginary demonist responds with a... more
Imagine a "demonist" who believes that there is an omnipotent and omnimalevolent demon. One might suppose that the amount and variety of goodness in the world is sufficient to refute demonism. But my imaginary demonist responds with a defensive strategy similar to that deployed by contemporary "skeptical theists." I argue that the strategy works as well for demonism as it does for theism. I conclude that, on the ground marked out by skeptical theists we cannot make any judgment about God's moral character by appealing to the mixture of good and evil we find in the world.
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Many Christian philosophers believe that it is a great good that human beings are free to choose between good and evil – so good, indeed, that God is justified in putting up with a great many evil choices for the sake of it. But many of... more
Many Christian philosophers believe that it is a great good that human beings are free to choose between good and evil – so good, indeed, that God is justified in putting up with a great many evil choices for the sake of it. But many of the same Christian philosophers also believe that God is essentially good – good in every possible world. Unlike his sinful human creatures, God cannot choose between good and evil. In that sense, he is not ‘morally free’. It is not easy to see how to fit these two theses into a single coherent package. If moral freedom is such a great good in human beings, why is it not a grave defect in God that he lacks it? And if the lack of moral freedom does not detract in any way from God’s greatness, would it not have been better for us not to have it? In this paper I shall develop, but ultimately reject, what I take to be the strategy that offers the best chance of moving between the horns of this dilemma. Since the problem is especially acute for Plantinga’s version of the free will defence and for Swinburne’s theodicy, I shall begin with a brief discussion of their views.
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Thoughtful Christians who hold the Old Testament in high regard must at some point come to terms with those passages in which God is said to command what appear (to us) to be moral atrocities. In the present paper, I argue that the... more
Thoughtful Christians who hold the Old Testament in high regard must at some point come to terms with those passages in which God is said to command what appear (to us) to be moral atrocities. In the present paper, I argue that the genocide passages in the Old Testament provide us with a strong prima facie reason to reject biblical inerrancy—that in the absence of better reasons for thinking that the Bible is inerrant, a Christian should conclude that God did not in fact command genocide. I shall also consider and reject the attempts of two prominent Christian philosophers to show that God had morally sufficient reasons for commanding the Israelites to engage in genocidal attacks against foreign peoples.
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If God commanded something that was obviously evil, would we have a moral obligation to do it? I critically examine three radically different approaches divine-command theorists may take to the problem posed by this question: (1) reject... more
If God commanded something that was obviously evil, would we have a moral obligation to do it? I critically examine three radically different approaches divine-command theorists may take to the problem posed by this question: (1) reject the possibility of such a command by appealing to God’s essential goodness; (2) avoid the implication that we should obey such a command by modifying the divine-command theory; and (3) accept the implication that we should obey such a command by appealing to divine transcendence and mystery. I show that each approach faces significant challenges, and that none is completely satisfying.
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One of the principal lines of argument deployed by the friends of the kalām cosmological argument against the possibility of a beginningless series of events is a quite general argument against the possibility of an actual infinite. The... more
One of the principal lines of argument deployed by the friends of the kalām cosmological argument against the possibility of a beginningless series of events is a quite general argument against the possibility of an actual infinite. The principal thesis of the present paper is that if this argument worked as advertised, parallel considerations would force us to conclude, not merely that a series of discrete, successive events must have a first member, but also that such a series must have a final member. Anyone who thinks that an endless series of events is possible must therefore reject this popular line of argument against the possibility of an actual infinite.
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In recent years, William Lane Craig has vigorously championed a moral argument for God’s existence. The backbone of Craig’s argument is the claim that only God can provide a ‘sound foundation in reality’ for morality. The present article... more
In recent years, William Lane Craig has vigorously championed a moral argument for God’s existence. The backbone of Craig’s argument is the claim that only God can provide a ‘sound foundation in reality’ for morality. The present article has three principal aims. The first is to interpret and clarify the account of the ontological foundation of morality proposed by Craig. The second is to press home an important objection to that account. The third is to expose the weakness of Craig’s case for saying that without God morality would be groundless and illusory.
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... Tags. Perceptual Synthesis in the Philsophy of Merleau-Ponty. by: Wesley Morriston. RIS, Export as RIS which can be imported into most citation managers. BibTeX, Export as BibTeX which can be imported into most citation/bibliography... more
... Tags. Perceptual Synthesis in the Philsophy of Merleau-Ponty. by: Wesley Morriston. RIS, Export as RIS which can be imported into most citation managers. BibTeX, Export as BibTeX which can be imported into most citation/bibliography managers. ...
EXPERIENCE AND CAUSALITY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MERLEAU-PONTY The philosophy of Merleau-Ponty is, above all, an attempt to chart a middle course between the extremes of realism and idealism. The central question of philosophy in our time,... more
EXPERIENCE AND CAUSALITY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MERLEAU-PONTY The philosophy of Merleau-Ponty is, above all, an attempt to chart a middle course between the extremes of realism and idealism. The central question of philosophy in our time, he writes, is" . . . that of ...
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Traditional compatibilists contend that free action is not without its determining causes; it is caused by the desires, the beliefs, and ultimately by the character of the agent. Internal causation by psychological factors is... more
Traditional compatibilists contend that free action is not without its determining causes; it is caused by the desires, the beliefs, and ultimately by the character of the agent. Internal causation by psychological factors is distinguished from external causation or compulsion, and only the ...