About
According to what I'll call the Ten Commandments theory, an agent's action is morally permissible if and only if it doesn't violate any of the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, one doesn't always know whether a particular action violates one of the Ten commandment. For example, one doesn't always know whether a particular action honors his or her father and mother, in which case one cannot know whether that action is morally permissible.
Some think that this is a problem. The correct ethical theory, they contend, must be one on which we can always know whether a particular action is morally right or wrong. This might motivate us to endorse a subjective version of the Ten Commandments theory on which an agent's action is morally permissible if and only if he or she believes that it doesn't violate any of the Ten Commandments.
This website helps you understand how this version of the Ten Commandments theory works by taking you through the process that a Ten Commandments theorist might go through to decide how to act in a particular situation. If you are interested in checking out how this theory compares to other moral theories, I would encourage you to click on the "Related Sites" tab at the top of the page.
Instructions
To begin, describe the action you would like to evaluate, and click 'Done'.
Next, you will be asked whether the action you're evaluating involves putting other gods before God. Click one of the boxes on the right side of the page to indicate whether you think it involves putting other gods before God.
Once you've done that, you will be asked whether the action you're evaluating involves making a graven image for yourself. Again, click one of the boxes on the right side of the page to indicate whether you think it involves making a graven image for yourself.
After you've indicated whether the action you're evaluating violates any of the Ten Commandments, a button will appear. Clicking that button will reveal whether you are morally permitted to perform it according to the subjective version of the Ten Commandments theory. To see how that conclusion is reached, click here.
I should also mention that if at any point you would like to change your answer to an earlier question, you are welcome to do that. Note, however, that if you change your answer to a question after you've already clicked the button at the bottom of the page to determine whether you may perform the action you're evaluating, you will have to click that button again to reevaluate the action you're evaluating in light of the change you made.
Help
Although this site is pretty straightforward, some might be interested in more information about the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Pentateuch/Bible, first in Exodus 20:1-17 and then again in Deuteronomy 5:4-21. For a general discussion of the Ten Commandments, you might visit Wikipedia. For a more thorough, scholarly discussion of the Ten Commandments, you might check out St. Thomas Aquinas' Explanation of the Ten Commandments.
How does this site work?
It's quite simple, really. After you describe the action you're evaluating, answer each of the questions, and click the button to see whether you may perform the action you're evaluating, the site checks to see whether you answered 'Yes' to any of the questions.
If you did, that suggests that you think the action you're evaluating violates at least one of the Ten Commandments, in which case the subjective version of the Ten Commandments theory entails that the action you're evaluating is not morally permissible.
If you did not answer 'Yes' to any of the questions, that suggests that you do not think the action you're evaluating violates any of the Ten Commandments, in which case the subjective version of the Ten Commandments theory entails that the action you're evaluating is morally permissible.
Feedback
I hope that you've found this site helpful. If you've found any bugs or would like to suggest ways I might improve it, please let me know. You can contact me by clicking here.