God Will Know What Ethical Decisions We Will Make
"God will know what ethical decisions we will make". Discuss.
Although as humans we behave as if we are free, it is possible that our actions are determined by an external force beyond our control. Although it appears that every event has a cause, some believe that only God knows what we will do and when.
There are three main approaches we should consider when answering this question; Hard Determinism, Libertarianism and Soft Determinism.
Hard Determinism is the theory that everything in the universe has a cause which precedes it. This is the basis of science, if it wasn't the case that one event or set of circumstances lead to another, scientific observation, and the conclusions drawn, would be pointless and meaningless. John Locke gave the example of a man who wakes up in a room that, unknown to him, is locked from the outside. He chooses to stay in the room, believing he has chosen freely. In reality, he has no option. However, his ignorance of this gives him an illusion of freedom. Although, with hard determinism there is an issue raised about moral responsibility. If all of our actions are predetermined then surely we can't be held responsible for them. Kant says that moral responsibility is only possible with free will. He argued for the idea of transcendental freedom, …show more content…
They believe that cause and effect are irrelevant, as determinists suggest, because moral actions are the result of individual character and values being applied to ethical concerns. All of our actions are based on the assumption that we are free. We can only make decisions about what to do if we do not already know what we are going to do. Although, by giving us free will to make our own decisions we begin to question God’s omniscience. If we have free will can God see our actions before we do them, and if so do we really have free will or are our actions predetermined by God’s
Although as humans we behave as if we are free, it is possible that our actions are determined by an external force beyond our control. Although it appears that every event has a cause, some believe that only God knows what we will do and when.
There are three main approaches we should consider when answering this question; Hard Determinism, Libertarianism and Soft Determinism.
Hard Determinism is the theory that everything in the universe has a cause which precedes it. This is the basis of science, if it wasn't the case that one event or set of circumstances lead to another, scientific observation, and the conclusions drawn, would be pointless and meaningless. John Locke gave the example of a man who wakes up in a room that, unknown to him, is locked from the outside. He chooses to stay in the room, believing he has chosen freely. In reality, he has no option. However, his ignorance of this gives him an illusion of freedom. Although, with hard determinism there is an issue raised about moral responsibility. If all of our actions are predetermined then surely we can't be held responsible for them. Kant says that moral responsibility is only possible with free will. He argued for the idea of transcendental freedom, …show more content…
They believe that cause and effect are irrelevant, as determinists suggest, because moral actions are the result of individual character and values being applied to ethical concerns. All of our actions are based on the assumption that we are free. We can only make decisions about what to do if we do not already know what we are going to do. Although, by giving us free will to make our own decisions we begin to question God’s omniscience. If we have free will can God see our actions before we do them, and if so do we really have free will or are our actions predetermined by God’s