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Contractualism, exclusionary reasons and the moral argument for theism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2022

Aaron Rizzieri Open the ORCID record for Aaron Rizzieri [Opens in a new window]
Aaron Rizzieri*
Affiliation:
Department of Arts and Sciences, Coconino Community College, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA
*
email: aaron.rizzieri@gmail.com
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Abstract

Moral reasons take precedence over non-moral reasons either by outweighing non-moral practical reasons, or by excluding such reasons. Several prominent defenders of the moral argument for theism have incorporated the outweighing thesis. They claim we have categorically binding moral duties only if we always have most reason to be ethical. Furthermore, we always have most reason to be ethical only if theism is true. On the contrary, I argue that the excluding reasons thesis is correct and that this undermines a key premise in moral arguments developed by C. Stephen Evans, C. Stephen Layman, and William Lane Craig.

Keywords

contractualismmoral argument for theismexclusionary reasonsmoral dutiesScanlon
Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 59 , Issue 1 , March 2023 , pp. 18 - 33
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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