Euthyphro Dilemma 1: Are moral truths independent of God?

The Euthyphro Dilemma was posed in Plato’s “Euthyphro.” Adapted for our purposes, it asks what God’s role is in determining what is good and what is evil. Is it that God has no say in the matter but only reinforces what is already so, or is it that God determines what is good or evil? Either choice seems to bring undesirable consequences.

In this first video, I explore the possibility that what is good or evil is determined before God gets to choose. This option lends itself to four objections we will consider. It seems inconsistent with God’s (1) sovereignty, (2) omnipotence, and (3) free will, and (4) it posits a mysterious list of rules uncreated by God.

NOTES

• Horn 1Saving an innocent person’s life is goodTorturing babies for fun is evilGod knows these things
  • So, God tells us not to do those things
• O1: Sovereignty
• O2: Omnipotence
• O3: Freedom of the will
• O4: moral truths are mysterious