The Euthyphro Dilemma was posed in Plato’s “Euthyphro.” Adapted for our purposes, it asks what God’s role is in determining what is good and what is evil. Is it that God has no say in the matter but only reinforces what is already so, or is it that God determines what is good or evil? Either choice seems to bring undesirable consequences.
In this video, I explore the possibility that this is a false dilemma. There is a third option that avoids the repercussions of the first two and provides insight into the nature of morality.
NOTES
- Third way
- God chooses what is good/evil
- But God does so according to His nature, which is eternal and never changes
- S1: Avoids problems of Horn 1
- God decides, so there is no threat to sovereignty, omniscience, or free will
- Moral truth is built in to our natures
- S2: Avoids problems of Horn 2
- Not arbitrary since it is determined by God's unchanging nature
- Not non-rational since it is chosen for a reason: according to His nature
- O1: How can we call God good?
- R1: analogically, since He determines goodness according to His nature