Q&A: Morality, Its Nature, and God's Freedom
Morality, Its Nature, and God's Freedom
Question
First, if morality does not depend on the Holy One, blessed be He, that means He is subject to it. That would also mean that even in a possible world in which there is no God, murder would still be morally wrong.
Second, people say that the Holy One, blessed be He, is merciful and gracious, good, loving, and so on.
Do these two facts not undermine God's freedom?
If He is subject to the moral law, that indicates that the law is above Him.
And if He is merciful, that basically means that He acts in accordance with what a merciful being would do. And He cannot act otherwise.
I would dismiss the question regarding the moral law with the claim that a moral law expresses a logical truth, and just as being subject to a logical law does not impair freedom (as you explained in the trilogy), so too being subject to a moral law. According to this, it comes out that the nature of moral law is the same as the nature of logical law. Is that correct?
But the question regarding God's nature is a bit difficult, no? If He has a nature, that means there is some internal factor (His nature) that dictates to Him what to do and what not to do.
Answer
I addressed this in column 457, and you should read what I wrote there.
I argue that indeed this is true in every possible world, but without God there is no reason to obey the moral law (that is, in a certain sense it would not deserve the title "morality").
As for being subject to it, He is also "subject" to the laws of logic. I explained why this is not really subordination. He is of course free to determine that there is no obligation to obey those laws, but He is not free to declare that they are not moral laws. True, this means there is an analogy between moral laws and logical laws, as opposed to laws of nature. Note that this does not mean they are implemented in the same way in every world. In a world where people love pain, the moral obligation would be to cause them pain. The principles remain the same, but the bottom line may be different.
As for God's nature, it is not His nature but a definition. Beyond that, if what constrains Him is part of His very self, that is not coercion (see also compatibilism).