On the Existence and Relevance of God
The main aims of this book are to establish that it is rational to believe that God exists; to show how God relates to morality; and to show how God is causally connected to his creation. Dore defends a version of the ontological argument and refutes the
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Also by Clement Dore GOD, SUFFERING AND SOLIPSISM MORAL SKEPTICISM THEISM
On the Existence and Relevance of God Clement Dore Emeritus Professor of Plzilosophy Vanderbilt University
© Clement Dore 1996
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1996 978-0-333-64464-5
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1996 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-1-349-24342-6 ISBN 978-1-349-24340-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-24340-2 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 10 05
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Published in the United States of America 1996 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-12895-1
To the memory of Roderick Firth
Contents Preface
ix
1 The Conc~pt of Supreme Perfection: Some Arguments for God's Existence
1
2 The Argument from Suffering I
17
3 The Argument from Suffering II
27
4 How God Grounds Morality I
41
5 How God Grounds Morality II
51
6 How to Apply the Ideal Observer Theory:
The Controversy over Artificial Contraception and Abortion
61
7 Causal Realism and the Egocentric Predicament
79
8 Theistic Phenomenalism: An Alternative Causal Theory of Perception
105
Appendices I-IV
123
Notes
135
Index
139
vii
Preface My main aims in this book are (1) to establish that it is rational to believe that God exists; (2) to show how God relates to morality; and (3) to show how God is causally connected to his creation. With respect to (1), I defend a version of the ontological argument and refute the atheistic argument from suffering. In connection with (2), I argue that only God can account for the overridingness of morality. I also treat ethical supernaturalism as a type of ethical attitude theory, that is, I show how it is related to secular theories which base valid judgments of moral goodness and badness on pro and con attitudes. With respect to (3), I show precisely how, given scientific explanation, theistic explanation of the empirical universe can get a foothold. My method is to adopt and defend a version of theistic (Berkeley-like) phenomenalism and, in that connection, a pragmatic-instrumentalist interpretation of scientific theories. All of the following have saved me from making some mistakes: Scott Davison, James Montmarquet, Crispin Sartwell and William Shaw. There might wel
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