Nietzsche: Morality Essay

Morality Essay

Have you ever asked yourself where your conscience comes from? The feeling that takes a hold of you when you do what you feel is wrong. This feeling is almost like a consequence when you tell a lie or commit a crime. Your conscience helps you sort out the good and bad and feels your mind with sorrow when you see a sad story on the news or gives you the initiative to donate money to a contribution. But where does it come from. Is it something you are naturally born with, taught over time or given to you by a higher power? This argument leads to the existence of moral values by many philosophers including William Lane Craig. One of his excerpts argues that if there is an existence of moral values, which some people agree, then there is the existence of God. He explains, “God provides the best explanation for objective moral values in the world. If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist.” Craig says that even the most influential atheists of our time agree with this argument but then in order to avoid God’s existence they deny that objective moral values exist. One of these atheists is J.L. Mackie who along with others explains that moral sense is a natural product of biological and social evolution. And the great philosopher Nietzsche is also one to disagree with Craig’s argument. However, even though Nietzsche and other philosophers provide many examples that help go against this argument, William Lone Craig has proven that the existence of moral values exist and therefore proves the existence of God.

To help prove this argument, you must first take a look the other side from the important, well know philosopher Nietzsche himself. Nietzsche gives many reasons that lead to the nonexistence of God in his book “The Nietzsche Reader”. One idea explains that everything everyone does is just natural and has nothing to do with God. He also would react to this argument by explaining that values change and that morality is a custom. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and therefore will have different morals so you cannot

say that everyone will have the same moral values. With this said, Nietzsche would not agree with Craig. His idea on perspectivism also shows that he would not agree. One idea is the real verse the apparent world, which he states that language and grammar tricks us to imagine there is an “essence” for what makes up the things we see. For example the idea that “lightening flashes” is false because in reality the lightening is the flash. He would use this in his argument towards the existence of moral values and God because not everyone sees things the same way. Nietzsche’s examples show that he does not believe in moral values and does not believe in God. Craig argues back with Nietzsche’s idea that proclaimed that the death of God meant the destruction of all meaning and value in life. In William’s excerpt he says that Nietzsche is right but we’ve got to be careful because the question is not “must we believe in God in order to live a moral life?” Craig doesn’t believe that we do. Nor is the question: Can we recognize objective moral values without believing in God? Because he does believe that you can recognize them. Rather, the question is: If God does not exist, do objective morals exist? Craig proves that they do by explaining that actions such as rape, torture, and child abuse aren’t just socially acceptable behavior. And that they are moral abominations and that there are some things that are really wrong and everyone knows it. Craig also says in his excerpt that even the Michael Ruse, a philosopher of Science at the University of Guelph who disagrees with Craig’s morality argument admits, “The man who says it is morally acceptable to rape little children is just as mistaken as the man who says 2+2=5.” Similarly, love, equality, and self-sacrifice are really good. So, with all this if objective values cannot exist without God and objective values do exist, then it follows logically and inescapably that God exists. And that is how Craig proves that Nietzsche is wrong with his side.

Another important philosopher to look at is Plato and how he would react to this argument. Plato’s views are more on the side of William Lone Craig when it comes to the existence of moral values. In his book “The Euthyphro” there is no question of whether a God exists. But he turns to the idea of what is and what isn’t pious when he shows a situation between Socrates and Euthyphro. Socrates argues with Euthyphro when he claims that everything that the Gods love is pious and every thing they don’t love is impious. Socrates argues back with a problem of proof by explaining that you can’t really know what the God’s think because