Religion and ethics by Lawrence Hinman

1. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 1 Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D. Director, The Values InstituteUniversity of San Diego Religion andReligion and EthicsEthics

2. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 2 Overview 1. The Christian Worldview 2. The Navajo Worldview 3. Islam 4. Buddhism

3. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 3 Part 1Part 1 The Christian WorldviewThe Christian Worldview Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam

4. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 4 Socrates’ Question It’s helpful to begin by contrasting the Christian and the atheistic world views. In order to answer the question of how reason and religion are related, let’s begin with Socrates’ question to Euthyphro. Then we will consider some positions on the relationship between religion and ethics.

5. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 5 God’s Relationship to the World Consider the ways in which God is in touch with the world. Theistic Worldview

6. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 6 God’s Interaction with the World In this view, God interacts with the world in several ways: – God creates the world – God is in contact interaction with the world – God’s creative act (esse) continually sustains the world in its existence – God gives the world a final purpose or goal or telos toward which it strives

7. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 7 Unity, Purpose, and Value As a result of these interactions, the world has: – Unity • This is a single world with structure – Purpose • Beings on earth have a goal or purpose ordained by God – Value • The world is good because: – It comes from God, who is all good – It is aiming toward God, who can only establish good purposes

8. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 8 The Atheistic Worldview For Bertrand Russell, existence has no unity, no value, and no purpose in the Christian sense of these terms.

9. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 9 “A Free Man’s Worship” “That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; “That his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; “That no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave, “That all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are all destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, “And that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins “–all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. “Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”

10. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 10 The ContrastThe contrast between these two worldview could not be sharper. – No place for preordained purposes in Russell’s view – No goodness inherent in the world for him – No privileged place for humanity within his view

11. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 11 Implications for Ethics The implications of these differences for ethics are profound – No ultimate purpose for humanity – No ultimate reward or punishment • Nietzsche’s question: if God is dead, is everything permitted? – No guarantee that nature is good or bad • “Unnatural” becomes a purely descriptive term Now let’s expand the discussion beyond Christianity.

12. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 12 The Diversity of Religious Traditions: Central Themes Navajo – An Ethic of Harmony Islam – An Ethic of Law Buddhism – An Ethic of Compassion

13. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 13 The Diversity of Religious Traditions: God and World Navajo – A plurality of gods, not necessarily in agreement with one another Islam – One God Buddhism – No personal God

14. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 14 Overview Theme God Navajo Harmony Many gods Islam Law One God Buddhism Compassion No personal God Christianity Love One God

15. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 15 Part 2Part 2 The Navajo ReligionThe Navajo Religion

16. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 16 The Navajo Holy Wind Tradition and Society – Oriented toward how Navajo treat one another – Small society – Practical, not theoretical Dualisms and Antagonisms – No Western mind-body split – Don’t choose one side of the dualism The Mountain Chant: Great Plumed Arrows Sequence

17. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 17 Navajo Medicine Western view – mind/body split (Descartes) – heal the body – Stamp out disease Navajo view – Mind and body together – Heal the whole person – Seek harmony

18. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 18 Evil Western attitude: – stomp it out Navajo – Evil is a part of life; it just “is” – Avoid it instead of eliminate it

19. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 19 HozhoHozho – harmony, beauty, peace of mind, goodness, health, well-being or success Morality guides an individual back into a state of harmony with all that surrounds the individual Nightway Chant: Whirling Logs

20. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 20 Hozho Three levels to harmonize: – natural – human – supernatural Create harmony rather than domination – Example: moving to higher ground rather than building a dam – Respecting the rattlesnake

21. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 21 The Holy Wind The wind is both: – physical (we feel it on our faces); – ephemeral (we cannot see it). The wind is both: – one – many The wind comes from the four principal directions, the four mountains Is local

22. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 22 The Messenger Wind Acts like Christian conscience – Swirls around an individual through a hidden point in the ear – Warns individuals of impending disruptions of hozho – Does not punish

23. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 23 Practical Ethics Basic premise: life is very, very dangerous Maxims: – “Maintain orderliness [i.e., harmony] in those sectors of life which are little subject to human control;” – “Be wary of non-relatives;” – “Avoid excesses;” – “When in a new situation, do nothing;” – “Escape.”

24. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 24 The Role of Rituals Rituals are intended to reestablish or insure hozho, harmony The Blessingway is one of the ceremonies performed to reestablish harmony when there has been a disruption

25. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 25 An Ethic of Harmony Ultimately, the Navajo way suggests an ethics of harmony among the natural, human, and supernatural world.

26. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 26 Part 3Part 3 IslamIslam Mecca

27. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 27 The Islamic Shari’ah Rejects traditional Western distinctions between – Church and state – Religion and ethics Islam: “surrender to the will of God” Concerned with all behavior

28. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 28 The Three Canonical Elements belief or faith – imam practice or action – islam virtue – ihsan

29. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 29 Divine Command “What should I do?” = “What is Allah’s will?” “What is right” = “What Allah wills” The will of Allah is embodies in Shari’ah, divine Islamic law Note primacy of the will

30. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 30 Shari’ah Covers all areas of human behavior Tells what is: – required – recommended – permitted – discouraged – forbidden

31. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 31 Shari’ah Two areas of law: – How Muslims act toward God • Described in the Five Pillars – How Muslims act toward other human beings • Describes in civil law

32. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 32 The Five Pillars Shahadah: the profession of faith that “there is no god but God (Allah) and that Mohammed is the Messenger of God;” Salah: ritual prayer and ablutions, undertaken five times a day while facing the holy city of Mecca; Zakah: the obligatory giving of alms (at an annual rate of approximately 2.5% of one’s net worth) to the poor to alleviate suffering and promote the spread of Islam; Saum: ritual fasting and abstinence from sexual intercourse and smoking, especially the obligatory month-long fast from sun-up to sun-down during the month of Ramadan to commemorate the first revelations to Mohammed; Hajj: a ritual pilgrimage, especially the journey to Mecca which traditionally occurs in the month after Ramadan and which Muslims should undertake at least once in a lifetime.

33. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 33 Virtue Ihsan, or virtue – worshipping God • Strictly religious – pursuing an aim • Similar to Aristotle

34. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 34 Ulama The Ulama, or clergy, give the definitive interpretation of Allah’s will No separation between church and state The Ulama also have an executive role in implementing Allah’s will

35. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 35 Jihad Literally means “striving” Focus on resisting, overcoming evil Greater Jihad: – focus on internal striving Lesser Jihad – focus on external striving

36. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 36 Moderate & fundamentalist Factors Islam, like many religions, has various factions. – Fundamentalist factions see little room for compromise with other religions • Leads to attacks against others, including attacks against the United States and against Hindus – Moderate factions see Islam as co- existing with other major religions.

37. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 37 Part 4Part 4 BuddhismBuddhism

38. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 38 Buddhism An Ethic of Compassion for all An Ethic of renunciation for monks An Ethic of reincarnation for lay persons

39. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 39 The Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths deal with – The inevitability of suffering – The sources of suffering – The elimination of suffering – The paths to the elimination of suffering

40. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 40 Two Ways of Reducing Suffering Suffering arises from a discrepancy between desire and experience – change the actual world — Western technology – change the desire, extinguish the individual self — Buddhism

41. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 41 Reincarnation Personal self moves through the wheel of existence like a flame being passed from one candle to another Karma: each individual action helps to set free or bind us to the personal self Moral commandments are generated by demands of karma

42. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 42 The Eight-fold Path right views Wisdom Prajna right intention Wisdom Prajna right speech Wisdom Prajna right action Morality Sila right livelihood Morality Sila right effort Morality Sila right mindfulness Concentration Samadhi right concentration Concentration Samadhi

43. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 43 Compassion Theravada Buddhism stresses an ethic of self-renunciation, self- purification, detachment Mahayana Buddhism stresses an ethics of compassion for all living things

44. 10/12/15 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 44 Overview Christianity Navajo Islam Buddhism Ideal Love Harmony Law Compassion View of God One God, Three Persons Many Gods One God No personal/ individual God