Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Ethics are ethical theories that govern human behavior. Both theories are based on the idea that an ethical system is a set of rules that govern human conduct. However, these two theories differ in several ways. Divine Command Theory states that God’s commands are to be followed, while Natural Law Ethics states that human nature dictates what is right and wrong. Furthermore, Natural Law Ethics emphasizes the importance of religion, while Divine Command Theory does not. This paper compares and contrasts Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Ethics.
In the YouTube video “Divine Command Theory,” the speaker explains various rules given in the Bible about what people should wear. The Divine Command Theory is a theory of ethics that holds that all actions are morally good or bad because God commands them (CrashCourse, 2016). If God commands an action, then it must be morally good. If God does not command an action, then it is not necessarily morally good or bad. The speaker claims that the Divine Command Theory addresses many of our biggest questions about right and wrong. The video illustrates the situation where Euthyphro is involved in prosecuting his father but confirms that it is right because the gods have commanded it. The speaker raises two dilemmas raised by Socrates. The first question is whether actions are right because God commands them. The second question is whether the right actions are commended by God because they are right.
Natural Law Ethics theory is derived from the teaching of Thomas Aquinas. Thus, Aquinas identifies two features associated with natural law (Murphy, 2019). The first assertion is that God is the provider of natural law. Secondly, when focusing on human beings as the recipient of natural law, practical rationality becomes paramount. Aquinas claims that human beings have a core of practical knowledge. One of the features of the theory is that it has divine providence, which means it recognizes divine beings. Divine providence implies that the natural law allows human beings to participate in the eternal law.
Both Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Ethics are based on the fact that there is a superior being that controls morality. In the Divine Command Theory, God is responsible for determining the morality of the actions of human beings. The Natural Law Ethics holds that there is divine providence in natural law, which implies a superior being, which is God (Zoshak & Dew, 2021). Divine Command Theory is based on the idea that humans have a moral obligation to follow God’s will, while Natural Law Ethics focuses on the concept of actions being right or wrong regardless of what they are called. Divine Command Theory argues that moral principles are divinely derived. It relies on the idea that God has a set of moral requirements for human behavior, which he has revealed to humanity through the Bible or other religious texts. Natural Law Ethics argues that moral principles are universal and innate within human nature.
Natural Law ethics is more relevant in the universal moral laws in contemporary American society. That is because it considers both the divine being and human beings. The ethical consideration takes practical rationality into account. The aspect considers the various aspects of goods that comply with nature (Murphy, 2019). That is opposed to the Divine Command Theory, which solely depends on the commands from God.
In conclusion, Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Ethics are ethical theories that govern human behavior. They are both similar in that they attempt to explain the difference between right and wrong. Both theories involve God at some point in making decisions about right and wrong. However, the Divine Command Theory places a greater emphasis on God’s commandments as compared to Natural Law Ethics. As such, the latter is more applicable in contemporary American society.
References
CrashCourse. (2016). Divine Command Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #33, [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Murphy, M. (2019). The natural law tradition in ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
Zoshak, J., & Dew, K. (2021). Beyond Kant and Bentham: How ethical theories are being used in artificial moral agents. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-15).