“Do the Right Thing”
Divine Command Theory-Moral Egoism
Heaven, Hell, And Religion
PHILOSOPHY 320
12/3/2009
Why do people follow rules and obey laws? Why do people generally avoid lying, cheating, stealing, and killing? Why do people give to charities or help their fellow man? Is it because that is the expectation, or is it because they want to avoid condemnation? Does the fear of punishment promote morality or is it the anticipation of reward? In a world where people have free will; what motivates them to do the right thing? In order to answer these questions one can refer to two philosophical theories; the Divine Command Theory and the Theory of Moral Egoism.
The Divine Command theory states that whatever God commands (as right) is morally right. It is the most widely received moral philosophy and is generally based on religious doctrine.”Many of the world’s religions are based on so called sacred writings said to be the word of God (or Allah). According to these traditions, God has issued commands to us that constitute the moral law we should follow. The moral laws are Gods commands. (4) In the theory of Moral Egoism actions are only morally justified if the consequences of the actions are more positive than negative to the person performing them. Under moral egoism, no moral duty exists to anyone other than self unless, doing good for others also provides good for self. The Divine Command and Moral Egoism theory are similar in that each provides valid reasons for acting when in a moral dilemma. However, when one makes a decision to do the right thing because God says, he ultimately carries out that decision as a “moral egoist”, in order to avoid punishment and receive a reward for his deeds.
In regard to reward and punishment, the general premise is that you do good you get rewarded- you do wrong you are punished. According to Webster’s dictionary a reward is something given in return for good or evil done or received for some service or...