1. Science and
Religion as moral
guides
Based primarily on “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding
Ethics”

2. “Something is right or
good just because God
commands it and …
something is wrong or
bad just because
God condemns it.” (p. 38)
THE DIVINE COMMAND THEORY

3. “[It] is the pursuit of truth based on solid, well-
established scientific principles. It differs from traditional
religion in that it is based on knowledge that can be
logically and rationally explained and proven.”
“[Science] is the only justified true belief available to
men, a precious tool with which we can fully
explain our past, improve our present and make the
positive choices that will determine our chances for the
future.”
SCIENTIFICISM
(http://www.scientificism.com/)

4. Science and religion
While RELIGION “addresses the big, spiritual
mysteries of life,” SCIENCE “addresses the
mundane workings of cause and effect in the
material world.”
(p. 59)

5. For an active believer (a religious
person), his/her religion and his/her
code of ethics go hand in hand …they
practically become one.
(“El aporte de la ética en la sociedad del siglo XXI”, Dr. Emilio Martínez, Dic. 2011)
Ethics and religion

6. IMPORTANT NOTE:
Due to the many
differences in religions,
the foundation for our
morality should be our
human reason and
intelligence.
(“El aporte de la ética en la sociedad del siglo XXI”, Dr. Emilio Martínez, Dic. 2011)

7. Ethics and science
Although science is
based on proven
facts, “[it] doesn’t
mean […] that
science should be
our guide in all
things. After all,
science isn’t
everything, and can’t
provide all of life’s
answers.” (p. 52)

8. “…science can tell us
what the most efficient
means are for achieving
our ends, but it can’t tell
us which ends are the
right ones.” (p. 61)
…
In other words, scientists cannot offer
answers to moral dilemmas.

9. …
Philosophy is not like
science, and moral
knowledge isn’t like
scientific knowledge.
Asking whether something
is scientifically possible
is different from asking
whether we should do it!
(p. 55)

10. Ethics, science, and
religion
“…ethics [and religion]
need science as much as
science needs ethics
[and even religion].”
(p. 52)
“…science and ethics (and maybe
religion) are different, but equally
necessary, perspectives for viewing
the world.” (p. 59)

11. “Science without religion is
lame, religion without
science is blind.”
-Albert Einstein

12. “Contrary to the extreme view
that science is all there is, we
really do need religion
(faith and hope) and ethics
(values and moral rules) to give
our lives meaning and purpose.”
(p. 61)

15. Avoid both religious fanaticism
and scientific extremism!

16. Cited work:
“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding
Ethics”
Chapter 4: God Made Me Do It
Chapter 5: Let Science Be Your Guide