Lewis’ most compelling arguments, in my opinion, can be found in book three of his work where he describes Christian behavior. Two words that describe his view of morality would be: harmony and purpose. Harmony, in regards to morality, should be found between people and inside an individual themself. Purpose, answers the age old question of what is the purpose of human life? C. S. Lewis answers the question above by saying that the purpose of
Every day we as citizens of this country make decisions either consciously or unconsciously on how we go about our daily lives. We make all of our decisions based on our own personal moral behavior and what we believe in. Moral rules are defined in the book as things along the lines of people should not drink in excess or children should come before self (pg. 26). One’s moral behavior is primarily based on how they were brought up and what they were raised to believe. To test ones moral behavior ask yourself whether you perceive stealing, whether it be a candy bar from a gas station or stealing someone’s purse as wrong or right. Whatever the answer you just picked, you picked it because of your very own personal moral behavior.
When it comes to defining morality and establishing the difference between right and wrong, there are several different approaches. One might ask who is responsible for distinguishing between right and wrong and ultimately what is moral and immoral. Is this concept different between individuals? Is it different between cultures? In Julia Driver’s 2007 piece, “God and Human Nature”, theories are discussed in order to convey a better understanding of morality and how it is determined. The theory to be discussed is the “Divine Command Theory” and Driver discusses the role of God in assessing morality.
Moral Law in the most general terms that can be imaged is a person’s need to right in the world. In the terms of C.S. Lewis, Moral Law is not a fact about human nature and it is not an ideal image of how humans should behave.This law creates a reality that cannot be clearly understood. It is a real law that we as individuals did not make ourselves that is pressed upon us to do what is right. The moral law is something that boes beyond the facts of our human nature.
In making the argument for the existence of the Law of Human Nature, C.S. Lewis first establishes the acknowledgement of a few different universal laws that man in subjected to. There is the law of gravity, in which Lewis insinuates that in the eyes of gravity, the body of man and a mere stone are one and the same. Then there are biological laws that correspond with those than an animal has. However, the one law that is specific to man and that man is free to disobey or get “mistaken”, is the “Law of Nature or decent behavior” (Lewis). C.S. Lewis uses inductive reasoning to form this kind of logic by first making the observation that even though throughout time man has seemed to have had different agreements of what they believe to be moral,
I never think about whether I have free will or not before . Every time I made a decision, I took it for granted. I thought what I thought was right and I did not doubt my decisions. Because it was my own decisions. I was confident about my decisions, which did not mean that I did not contemplate; I thought about things outside my mind but not my ability to think freely and act freely. I In terms of free will, there is a dispute between determinists, metaphysical libertarian, and compatibilists. Determinists states that people have no free will as there is a cause and effect relationship between two event, while metaphysical libertarian argues that people do have free will because they feel free to make a decision by following their will. With
Louise M. Antony argues an important ethical concern in her article, “Good minus God”. Can a person do good deeds without God? Arguing from an atheistic point of view, Antony believes that a person does not need to depend on God in order to complete good deeds. I agree, whether Christian or Atheist, all can perform good deeds, but who ultimately defines good versus evil? Antony subjectively defines morality and uses nature as her source. In contrast, I believe God created all things and defines good and evil through His creation and Word. And finally, as followers of God, our motivation for accomplishing good comes from our love for all God has done for us. Imagine a world without order, chaotic without a specific guide to right or wrong–a world without God.
Chapter 12 addressed non-consequentialism as opposed to consequentialism. The Natural Law Theory was expanded on, as were the human, eternal, and divine law theories. Basic human goods were also discussed; it was determined that life, friendship, family, religion, knowledge, and the experience of beauty are all basic human goods. Acting out of good will was said to be necessary for moral actions. Furthermore, the Fundamental Law of Morality was introduced, as were categorical imperatives. The Veil of Ignorance was also discussed; a concept which means that the people under the Veil do not know their place in society, societal status, and many other particular facts. Also addressed in this chapter were prima facie duties, ideal and act utilitarianism,
Abdu H Murray wrote a book on the Grand Central Question, which is answering critical concerns on major worldviews. Every religion and worldview seek to answer the fundamental questions of human existence. Murray digs deeper into three major worldviews and compares them to the central message of Christianity. The three representative are as followed: Secular humanism focuses on: What is the inherent value of human beings, Pantheism emphasizes: How do we escape suffering, and Islam 's main concern is: How is God great?
After explaining the beliefs of Dualism and Pantheism, Lewis raised a question: "If a good God made the world why has it gone wrong?" According to him, there are two views that face all the facts. One is the Christian view that this is a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been. Firstly, for Christianity, evil is a parasite, not an original independent thing. The powers which enable to carry on are powers given it by goodness. All the things which enable a bad man to be effectively bad are in themselves good things (e.g.: resolution or cleverness). Secondly, after reading the New Testament, Lewis explains that Christianity has a Dark Power (an evil spirit who is held to be the Power behind
King suggests that the law does not necessarily establish what is right and wrong. Morality is a “particular system of values and principles
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, can be connected to many of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition core claims and questions. That being said, the core question “What is our relationship with the Natural World?” is actually heavily based off of this book. In book one, Lewis gives the readers a description of all the natural laws we can be faced with in this world. The Law of Human Nature, on page 4 and 5 he says “this law or rule is about right and wrong… it is called the Law of Nature because people thought that everyone knew it by nature and does not need to be taught it.” This is absolutely true, we as human are taught what is right and what is wrong. If something is wrong, then we know that we will get punished for it. Whereas, if something was right, we will get rewarded. For instance, crime. If you murdered another human, you will end up in jail for a lifetime as a punishment. We have
He developed 3 levels or 6 stages to analyze the basis for moral reasoning. The first level is preconventional level which is where moral reasoning is controlled mostly by obedience to authority as well as rewards and punishments. The first of two stages in preconventional level is obedience orientation. This is the notion that adults always know what’s right so a person does what the adult thinks is right so they avoid getting punished. The second stage is instrumental obedience. This is when people are nice to someone else while having the expectation that they will receive the same favor. The next level is conventional. The third stage of conventional is interpersonal norms. This is when adolescents and adults act according to other people’s expectation. By behaving well, they win approval of others. The fourth stage is social system morality. Social roles, expectations, and laws are made to encourage good in all people. The last level is postconventional, where adults that are older than 25 have their moral decisions based on personal, moral principles. The fifth stage of post conventional level is social contact orientation. Adults approve of cultural groups abiding by “social contract” that will benefit all group members. These do become invalid when the expectations and laws don’t promote the persons welfare. The last stage is universal ethnical principles. Justice, compassion, equality which are all abstract are formed by the person’s moral code. Sometimes these moral codes conflict with the society’s norms and
Human nature is defined as the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioural traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans. Numerous characters from The Storyteller and Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” possess qualities synonymous with the sins of greed and gluttony, as well as others who are virtuous in nature. In the Middle Ages, the idea of the seven deadly sins and seven heavenly virtues was implemented to instruct and guide the behaviour of Christians. Sins are essentially unavoidable urges of mankind that were created to ensure that all of humankind will inevitably sin, as all people will give in to these instinctual urges. Dependence on the Church was assured during this time period as people believed
Morality has long been used by human being as a basis for their actions. Believers of God think that doing good deeds is being moral and thus these actions will save them from their sins. They believe that following God’s will, that is the 10 commandments and in the new commandments stated in the New Testament is the written and visible basis for these actions found in the Holy Bible. .