Morality Without God? (Philosophy In Action)

Morality Without God? (Philosophy In Action)

by WalterSinnott-Armstrong (Author)

Synopsis

Some argue that atheism must be false, since without God, no values are possible, and thus everything is permitted. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong argues that God is not only not essential to morality, but that our moral behavior should be utterly independent of religion. He attacks several core ideas: that atheists are inherently immoral people; that any society will sink into chaos if it is becomes too secular; that without morality, we have no reason to be moral; that absolute moral standards require the existence of God; and that without religion, we simply couldn't know what is wrong and what is right. Sinnott-Armstrong brings to bear convincing examples and data, as well as a lucid, elegant, and easy to understand writing style. This book should fit well with the debates raging over issues like evolution and intelligent design, atheism, and religion and public life as an example of a pithy, tightly-constructed argument on an issue of great social importance.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 192
Publisher: OUP USA
Published: 02 Jul 2009

ISBN 10: 0195337638
ISBN 13: 9780195337631

Media Reviews

In his call for sincere dialogue with theists, Sinnott-Armstrong provides a welcome relief from the apoplectic excesses of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, while also addressing objections to homosexuality and evolution frequently raised by evangelical Christians. --Publishers Weekly


[I]t is accessible and lively, my hope is that it will be widely read, especially by theists. --Peter Lamal, The Humanist


The clarity of this text successfully defuses many erroneous claims about religion and morality, both popular and academic; this volume certainly deserves a wide audience in this increasingly secular and skeptical world. --Choice


Author Bio
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong is Professor of Philosophy and Hardy Professor of Legal Studies at Dartmouth College. He is co-author of God? A Debate between a Christian and an Atheist as well as Understanding Arguments, author of Moral Skepticisms, and editor of Pyrrhonian Skepticism, Moral Psychology, and the OUP series, Philosophy in Action.