Theories of ethics that ground the nature of ethical demands in the fact that they represent the commands of God. The classic philosophical problem in front of such an account, apart from the fragile access we have to any such commands, is the Euthyphro dilemma, attacking the idea that an arbitrary act of will, even of a deity, can itself produce values. The social problem generated by the account is that in periods of declining religious belief, people become unable to attach importance to moral concerns either: ‘If God is dead, everything is permitted.’