Metaphysics of God Flashcards
Definition of aseity?
Self existence, God is without cause and dependent on nothing
Definition of temporal
In time
Definition of atemporal
Outside of time
Definition of eternal
Lasting forever outside of time with no ending or beginning
Definition of everlasting
Lasting forever inside time
Definition of sempiternal
A being existing throughout time but without beginning and without end
Definition of timeless
Existing outside of time
Definition of transcendent
Existing outside of space
Definition of immutable
Existing without changing
Definition of simultaneous
Existing or occurring at the same time
Definition of ex nihilo
Created from nothing
Definition of deism
The belief that God exists but he does not intervene in the world
Definition of theism
The belief that God exists and does intervene in the world
Definition of compossible
Existing together without contradiction
Definition of in intellectu
In the mind
Definition of in re
In reality
Definition of necessary existence
This refers to something which cannot be thought not to exist and was not brought into being by anything else
Definition of contingent existence
This refers to something which depends on something else for it’s existence and can be considered not to exist.
What is Descartes definition of Omnipotence?
He argued that omnipotence means that God can do anything, including the logically impossible
What is Aquinas’s definition of Omnipotence?
He argued that omnipotence does not include the ability to do logically imposible tasks only logically possible tasks
What is ability knowledge?
The kind of knowledge involved in skills and abilities. It is the knowledge of how to do things e.g I know how to breathe, ride a bike
What is aquaintance knowledge?
This is best understood as knowledge about some part of reality, which I may or may not have experienced myself. A proposition is a declarative statement- something is declared about reality e.g all fish have scales. Because these statements are about reality, they can be true or false
What is propositional knowledge?
This is best understood as knowledge about some part of reality, which I may or may not have experienced myself. A proposition is a declarative statement- something is declared about reality e.g all fish have scales. Because these statements are about reality, they can be true or false
What is Kretzmann’s argument for the incoherence of Omniscience?
- God isn’t subject to change (He is immutable).
- God knows everything. (He is omniscient)
- A being that knows everything, also knows everything in time (ie in our changing world).
- A being that knows things in time is subject to change. (his knowledge will change)
- Therefore God is subject to change
what is reductio ad absurdum
A way of disproving an argument by showing that it’s logical consequences are absurd or contradictory
What is the paradox of the stone?
The paradox questions God’s omnipotence and asks if God can create a stone that is too heavy to lift. If yes then God is not omnipotent because he cannot lift the stone in question. If no then God is not omnipotent because he cannot create a stone heavy enough that he cannot lift it.
What is Mavrodes’ solution to the paradox?
Mavrodes does not believe that this paradox undermines God’s omnipotence as the task is self-contradictory: it is not a ‘true’ task.
- Assume God is not omnipotent - then the dilemma only tells us something a non-omnipotent being cannot do. However, this is rather trivial/tautologic as all non-omnipotent beings can’t do certain things.
- Assume God is omnipotent - then the question becomes ‘can a being whose power is sufficient to lift anything create a stone which cannot be lifted by him?’. To Mavrodes, this is clearly contradictory as an omnipotent being cannot be limited.
What is Savage’s criticism of the paradox?
Savage did not agree with Mavrodes - he believed he was approaching the paradox wrongly. By trying to show that God’s omnipotence is not limited, he misses the point of the paradox. Instead, that the concept of omnipotence is incoherent and therefore the existence of an omnipotent being is logically impossible.
What is Savage’s solution to the paradox?
Savage imagines two beings, one who makes stones and another who lifts them. He suggests that the lifter is omnipotent and so the maker cannot make a stone heavy enough that the lifter cannot lift it. However, this does not limit the maker’s power; and so the same rule would apply were they actually the same person (ie God). God is both the lifter and the maker and each of these are both omnipotent without limiting the other ones.
Therefore, the concept of omnipotence is not incoherent.
What is Swinburne’s solution to the paradox?
Swinburne argues that God does possess the power to make a stone he could not lift, but chooses not to. His own actions may constrain him at a later date, but only if omnipotence is understood in a temporal context
What is divine command theory?
The idea that morality comes from God - what is good is what that is commanded by God and what is evil is that which God forbids.
What is the Euthyphro dilemma?
A dilemma posed by Plato to question Gods Omnibenevolence and whether morality truly comes from God. There are two horns of this dilemma:
Horn 1: is that which is morally good, good, because God commands it
If you agree with horn one then if God commands you to kill innocent people then you must agree that it is morally good because God has commanded you do it however we know that murder is wrong. Morality becomes fluid and arbitrary as morality is subject to God’s whims
Horn 2: does God command it because it is morally good
If you agree with horn two then this implies that morality was not created by God and God is bound by the laws morality. He recommends it but he did not create it and has no power over what is good and evil - something greater than God??
