♣ Six of Clubs
the moral, experiential and pragmatic family
The Argument from the Unity of the Moral and Natural Orders
William Ritchie Sorley
Moral Values and the Idea of God

EvidentialConcludes that a feature of the world is better explained by one hypothesis than by a named rival.
- Argument form
- Inference to the best explanation (unconscious law cannot hold the two orders as one; a purposing mind can)
- Concludes to
- Better explanation (discord of the moral and natural orders; explanans is a Supreme Mind purposing good)
- Premise ground
- Epistemic (unconscious law cannot hold the two orders as one; a nature working out a purpose can)
- Modal strength
- None (comparative explanation)
- What it licenses
- Period
- Twentieth Century (1918)
- Tradition
- Idealist (British)
Further reading
- Source text, public domain
Moral Values and the Idea of Godmoralvaluesideao00sorlrich.pdf - A scholarly account
Read an exposition of the argument
This formulation is ours, composed from the primary source and compressed to fit the card; the argument admits of other statements. Objections have been made to every argument in the deck; where one is linked above, it is chosen by us, not written by us.
ergocards.com/moral-and-natural
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