Al-Ashari's View on Divine Command Theory vs. Mu'tazilites & Nielsen's Critique, Slides of Philosophy

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Divine Command Theory Part II

Al-Ashari on Divine Command Theory

Background :

• Al Ash’ari (874-936 CE) was a Muslim

theologian and philosopher and the

founder of the Asharite school of theology

• He believed that the laws of God (Allah)

can be discovered through revelation

alone

• He did not think it not possible for human

reason to determine on its own what is

good and evil

• Why? Humans’ capacity for reasoning and

judgment is limited and liable to error

The Mu’tazilites: Al-Ashari’s opponents

• The Mu’tazila = “those who withdraw themselves”
• School of philosophy that emphasized the use of human reason
• Founder: Wasil ibn ‘Ata (700-748 CE)
• Originated in Basra (Iraq)
• Became the official doctrine of the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad for 30 years
• Said that the human intellect can identify the law of God even without the mediation of divine revelation (the Quran) or Prophets (messengers from God)
• Note: Al-Ash’ari initially followed this school but later turned against it

Kai Nielsen (1926- )

• Canadian philosopher and secular

humanist

• He adopts some aspects of ethical

theories like Aristotle’s

• He argues that even if there is no god,

morality exists

• For example, people still want to be

happy

• To have that, they need some sort of

order in society

• That sort of order requires security,

mutual respect, and so on

Kai Nielsen: Reason should override Divine

Command Theory (DCT)

• Use of reason is effective on its own

(Enlightenment idea)

• Reason should be the same for God and

human beings (Kant)

• Faith and Reason are compatible

(Aquinas)

• Natural law can establish moral precepts

also

Advantages of Divine Command Theory

• It provides an objective foundation for morality.
• God’s laws, as found in such works as the Ten

Commandments, are clear, objective, and unchanging

• It gives us a good answer to the question: why be moral?

Those who do good will be rewarded, and those who do

evil will be punished

• If God is the source of human morality, then it is our duty

to find out what is His Will and seek to submit to it and

carry it out. In that way our acts are moral.

• It makes us less liable to mistakes. God did give us reason

but our understanding is fallible, so following God’s law

safeguards us against human error