Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?)
Stephen Darwall has developed an account of moral obligations as grounded in “second-personal reasons,” which was developed in conversation with early modern “theological voluntarists” who were divine command theorists. For Darwall, morality does not require accountability to God; humans as autonomo...
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/3/187 |
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doaj-9c6ea38ddd3d4b359bd541637fd604bb2021-03-12T00:04:17ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-03-011218718710.3390/rel12030187Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?)C. Stephen Evans0Department of Philosophy, Baylor University, One Bear Place, #97273, Waco, TX 76798-7273, USAStephen Darwall has developed an account of moral obligations as grounded in “second-personal reasons,” which was developed in conversation with early modern “theological voluntarists” who were divine command theorists. For Darwall, morality does not require accountability to God; humans as autonomous moral agents are the source of moral obligations. In this paper, I try to show that Darwall is vulnerable to some objections made against divine command theories. There are responses Darwall could make that have parallels to those given by divine command theorists. However, those responses require moral realism, while Darwall’s project is often seen as being inspired by metaethical constructivism. Finally, I suggest that Darwall’s view could be further strengthened by the addition of God to the story.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/3/187accountabilityStephen Darwalltheological voluntarismdivine command theoryconstructivismsecond-personal reasons |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
C. Stephen Evans |
| spellingShingle |
C. Stephen Evans Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) Religions accountability Stephen Darwall theological voluntarism divine command theory constructivism second-personal reasons |
| author_facet |
C. Stephen Evans |
| author_sort |
C. Stephen Evans |
| title |
Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) |
| title_short |
Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) |
| title_full |
Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) |
| title_fullStr |
Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?) |
| title_sort |
does darwall’s morality of accountability require moral realism? (and would it be strengthened by adding god to the story?) |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| series |
Religions |
| issn |
2077-1444 |
| publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
| description |
Stephen Darwall has developed an account of moral obligations as grounded in “second-personal reasons,” which was developed in conversation with early modern “theological voluntarists” who were divine command theorists. For Darwall, morality does not require accountability to God; humans as autonomous moral agents are the source of moral obligations. In this paper, I try to show that Darwall is vulnerable to some objections made against divine command theories. There are responses Darwall could make that have parallels to those given by divine command theorists. However, those responses require moral realism, while Darwall’s project is often seen as being inspired by metaethical constructivism. Finally, I suggest that Darwall’s view could be further strengthened by the addition of God to the story. |
| topic |
accountability Stephen Darwall theological voluntarism divine command theory constructivism second-personal reasons |
| url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/3/187 |
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