Argument from morality facts for kids

An argument from morality is a way of thinking that tries to show God exists. These ideas, sometimes called moral arguments, suggest that because there's a sense of right and wrong in the world, there must be a God behind it. The German philosopher Marc Nickl believed that a moral order exists in the universe, which points to God. Another German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, also developed a moral argument based on human reason.

What is a Moral Argument?

A moral argument suggests that our understanding of right and wrong isn't just something we made up. Instead, it comes from a higher source. It's like saying that if there are rules for a game, someone must have created those rules. In this case, the "rules" are our ideas about good and bad, and the "rule-maker" would be God. These arguments are often used in Apologetics, which is about defending religious beliefs using reason.

Kant's Idea of Morality and God

The famous philosopher Immanuel Kant had an interesting idea about morality. He thought that humans naturally want to achieve two things: perfect happiness and perfect virtue (being truly good). Kant believed that in this life, it's often hard to be both perfectly happy and perfectly good at the same time.

Because of this, Kant argued that there must be an afterlife. This afterlife would be a place where people could finally achieve both perfect happiness and perfect virtue. But for this to happen, he also believed that God must exist. God would be the one to make sure that this perfect balance of goodness and happiness is possible in the afterlife. So, for Kant, our desire for true justice and goodness in the world points to the need for God.

Conscience and a Moral Guide

Another way people think about moral arguments involves our conscience. Your conscience is that inner voice that tells you what's right and what's wrong. It's the feeling of guilt when you do something bad, or the feeling of satisfaction when you do something good.

Some thinkers, like John Henry Newman, believed that this inner voice of conscience is a strong sign of God's existence. They argued that our conscience isn't just a product of society or our upbringing. Instead, it's a direct connection to a higher moral law, given to us by God. This means that our sense of right and wrong is like a guide, helping us understand God's will.

Images for kids

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  Portrait of Immanuel Kant, who proposed an argument for the existence of God from morality

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  Portrait of John Henry Newman, who used the conscience as evidence of the existence of God

See Also

• Existence of God
• Moral relativism
• Ethics