Anselm Four Dimensionalist Approach Flashcards
For Anselm, what is his understanding of how God views time?
Time is a fourth dimension to God, similar to how we spek about the other 3 spatial dimensions (height, width, depth). Anselm states tht God is neither spatial nor temporal. Anselm argues that all moments in time are equally present and equally real for God; all times and places are in God equally.
How does Anselms view differ from Boethius’ (how did he develop it)?
Boesthius argued that all moments in the past, present and future are simultaneously present for God, what we call the past, present and future (time) is all ‘now’ for God. However, Anselm argues that all times and places are equally present to God, not because they are ‘now’ to God but because God himself is actually eternity and so ach moment is actually in God.
What is presentism?
Only focuses on the present moment, the past has happened and is gone, the has not yet happened. Reality is this moment.
How does Anselm view time?
He doesn’t see time in the presentist view. Terms such as ‘yesterday’ ‘last week’ ‘a year ago’ are subjective to the person percieving that moment, it depends on where you are in space as well as time, because we are in a different space as others, time is affected by that as well. However, he believes that God is not limited by time or space like we are.
For anselm, why is God not affected by time and space?
God is not just ‘in every time and space’ but. Every ‘time and space’ is in God - God is not limited by them but rather in control of them.
How does Anselms view of God mean we still have free will? (+)(P1)
Preceeding and following necessity: God knows the sun will rise tomorrow because its a preceedingg necessity, dependent on physical laws which are part of Gods knowledge. He has knowledge of the choices we wwill make beause they are a following necessity.
Free will (-)(P1)
This argument is a contradictory and hypocritical explanation of free will : Anselm rejects the use of temporal language to describe god yet uses terms such as ‘preceeding’ and ‘following’. Futhermore, this is incompatable with Biblical evidence such as the creation story. Why or how woud a timeless God create a world limited by time? Creation story states God made the world in 6 days and 6 nights
How is Anselms view of God incompatible with a classic theist God?
The God Anselm describes cannot have temporal relations with believers as it does not experience linear time as we humans do in the physical world. This is incompatible with a classic theist God as it doesn’t allow for a relationship with God. As well as this, the classical theist God seems to be involved in the world (its creation), rather than outside of it. Futhermore, Biblical evidence of miracles such as God parting the Red sea suggest that God can interact with time.
-Jesus and the trinity (both transcendent and within time?)
Therefore…
P2(+)Anselm protects free will because he is alongside us in the moment of choice and knows ur choice as a following necessity
(-)Counter
From our perspective, our future choices are free, but an eternal, omniscient God has already seen those choices being made. (John lockes analogy). This challeneges the existence of free will. It also impacts the problem of evil as it seems that God is alongside as we make choices, can he prrevent or change those choies? Futhermore, it is contradictory to say that God is omnibenevolent yet he doesn’t prevent evil and suffering even though he already has the knowledge (omniscience) and power (omnipotence) to do so
What is another weakness of Anselms four-dimensional approach?(diest)
Arguably, anselms view of Gods ‘eternal’ existence links with a diest God or a God of philosophers rather than one of classical theism. He describes a god that is intrinsically different from the god of classical theism: it seems more like aristotles pm or a partisan God…(preferential treatment)
