Problem for Naturalists and Ethics:  What is the ground for value of human beings?  Louis Pojman says, “If theism is false, then it may be doubtful whether all humans have equal worth, or any worth at all, and it may be more difficult to provide an unequivocal response to the question ‘Why be moral even when it is not in my own best interest?’ . . .” Discovering Right and Wromg, p, 202) Friedrich Nietzsche, Peter Singer, and many other philosophers (both atheists and theists) think that this is the biggest problem in constructing an ethical theory–finding good reasons to believe in the objective worth (or value) of human beings.  Instructor’s Document

The Moral Argument for God’s Existence (from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and William Sorley):  Frederick Copleston (Christian philosopher) debated the famous atheist, Bertrand Russell, on BBC Radio in 1948 and Copleston famously dismissed the moral argument (axiological argument) for God’s existence and instead appealed to the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.   (Commentary and website of the debate:  nhttp://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p20.htm ) 

Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism: We normally know all of the long-term consequences of our actions (e.g. Choosing one college over another, choosing to marry so and so, investing in Facebook stock, etc.).

Karl Marx’s Metaphysics:  . ´“History does nothing, it ‘possesses no immense wealth,’ it ‘wages no battles.’  It is man, real living man, that does all that, that possesses and fights; ‘history’ is not a person apart, using man as a means for its own particular aims; history is nothing but the activity of man pursuing his aims.”  . For Karl Marx, this future is ______________________.  The laws of history are “tendencies working with iron necessity towards inevitable results.”

Theories of Moral Realism: The following is an example of _____________________ reasoning:  In the New Testament, Caiphas, the High Priest, advises the Council to deliver Jesus to the Romans for execution: “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish” (John 11:49-50).

The following is the ____________________________________: “We ought to do that which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.”   See Mill’s Utilitarianism (pp. 125 – 127)

The following is an example of a Rule Utilitarian (RU):  “If the practice of lying is, overall, bad for the world in cases where one is tempted to lie, then one ought not to lie now, even if in this case to lie would actually bring about better consequences.”

Implications of the worldview of Naturalism (Scientific Atheism) for life and ethics:  . William Lane Craig argues (following Francis Schaeffer and the admission of atheists like Jean-Paul Sartre) that atheism is practically impossible to follow and be consistent because atheism eliminates three things from being real in life.  Which of the following is not one of the three things that Craig argues?

For Karl Marx, the “dictatorship of the proletariat” is the first stage of the synthesis.   In this stage, the proletariat use their newly gained political power to cleanse society of the last remnants of capitalism. . Historically, what happens in this stage?  

After World War I, people didn’t behave as Marxists predicted (that the workers of the world would unite), and instead turned to God and church, their countries (nationalism), and families.   This inspired the Frankfurt School of Marxism (in the 1920s) to begin the plan of Cultural Marxism in the USA to bring about the Marxist revolution.   Which of the following WAS NOT part of the plan of the Frankfurt School and Cultural Marxism?