divine approbation theory

ethics

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June 25, 2026

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The divine approbation theory posits that an action is morally good because it is approved by God. This ethical stance suggests that God's will is the ultimate standard for determining right and wrong.

This view contrasts with theories that base morality on human nature or reason. A significant challenge to the divine approbation theory, famously raised by Plato in his dialogue Euthyphro, questions whether actions are good because God approves of them, or if God approves of them because they are inherently good. If the former, then morality could be arbitrary; if the latter, then goodness exists independently of God's will.

Historically, this idea has been influential, particularly among some Protestant theologians after the Reformation, and it effectively removed ethics from the realm of philosophical reason, making it a matter of faith and revelation.12

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ethics
St. Thomas Aquinas and the Scholastics
…position is sometimes called a divine approbation theory, because it defines good as whatever is approved by God. As mentioned earlier, it follows from such a position that it is meaningless to describe God himself as good. It also follows that if God had willed humans to torture children, it…
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…position is sometimes called a divine approbation theory, because it defines good as whatever is approved by God. As mentioned earlier, it follows from such a position that it is meaningless to describe God himself as good. It also follows that if God had willed humans to torture children, it…
Read More