Philosophy of Religion (booklet)

The Moral Argument

The transcendental argument from morality is the argument from the existence of morality to the existence of God. The existence of God, it suggests, is a necessary condition for the existence of morality.

Morality consists of a set of commands; it does not describe the way that the world is, but rather prescribes the way that the world ought to be; it tells us what to do. Commands, however, cannot exist without there being a commander, and there must therefore be some being that issued the commands that constitute morality.

This being, however, cannot have been a human being. For a command only carries as much authority as does its commander, but the authority of morality exceeds the authority of any human being. In fact, the commands that constitute morality carry ultimate authority; if morality prescribes that I perform one act, but prudence, or any other non-moral consideration, prescribes that I perform another, then all things considered I ought to perform the act prescribed by morality. Moral considerations, then, outweigh all other considerations. The authority that issued the commands that constitute morality must therefore be an ultimate authority. The only ultimate authority, however, is God. The existence of morality therefore depends on, and so demonstrates, the existence of God. (1) Morality consists of a set of commands.

(2) For every command there is a commander.

Therefore:

(3) There is a commander that commanded morality.

(4) Commands only carry as much authority as does their commander.

(5) Morality carries ultimate authority.

Therefore:

(6) The commander that commanded morality carries ultimate authority.

(7) Only God carries ultimate authority.

Therefore:

(8) The commander that commanded morality is God.

Therefore:

(9) God exists.