30th Annual Student Research Conference
Theism, Atheism and Objective Morality
Joshua M. Hunsaker
Dr. David Murphy, Faculty Mentor
Objective moral values and duties are best explained by theistic interpretations. Theism gives us an ontological framework for the existence of objective moral values and duties. Atheism does not have an equally comparable argument. Many atheists have realized the relation between God and the objectivity of the moral realm as necessary and therefore have abandoned hope in the objectivity of good and evil. However, certain atheists, such as Dr. Louise Antony, have reservations about moral interpretations of objective morality and think that it is better explained by secular interpretations. In this paper, I discuss the two different worldviews on these moral issues in attempts to show that theistic interpretations provide a better explanation of the agreed upon facts. In this paper, I compare the philosophy of objective morality from theist philosophers with that of atheist philosophers and respond to objections from both sides. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with sufficient reasons for faith and to show that theism is not an intellectually vacuous option.
Keywords: Philosophy, Religion, Morality, Theism, Atheism, Worldviews, Objectivity, Faith
Topic(s):Philosophy & Religion
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 210-2
Location: VH 1224
Time: 9:45