Attributes of God - God's Omniscience and Freewill - solutions according to Boethius and Aquinas
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 11-05-17 20:28
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- God's Omniscience and Freewill - solutions according to Boethius and Aquinas
- Problem of Omniscience and freewill
- God's knowledge reflects his eternal nature
- God knows what will happen, eternally - but does not control what takes place; his knowledge is not causal
- So, if God timelessly knows I will have beans on toast for tea this means I will have beans. Sounds like determinism?
- Boethius's solution
- Boethius makes a distinction
- God knows some things are due to simple necessity - the sun shines, the moon goes round earth
- He knows others due to conditional necessity - in this case the man deciding
- God's knowledge of things doesn't impose necessity on things - he doesn't make them happen
- A future may be thought of as 'necessary' because God 'sees' it, but voluntary and undetermined in regard of its own nature because it is decided upon by us.
- Gerard Hughes argues that humans' decision cause God to know what happens.
- Problems with timeless omnisicent God
- Boethius may not be successful since if God knows I will do X - it does seem I cannot do other (the definition of freewill) - involuntariness questionable.
- Boethius makes a distinction
- Aquinas
- Aquinas see difficulties in squaring human freewill and God's omniscience
- He argues that God's knowledge of human choice is dictated by the causal link between Creator and creature
- He does, however see a potential compromise of freewill - so he attempts to make a distinction between saying:
- "If God knows I will eat beans on toast for tea it will, necessarily happen' and 'I will necessarily eat beans on toast for tea'
- Former leaves room for freewill, the latter doesn't - God knows I choose to have beans on toast for tea and it is therefore necessary - God's knowledge doesn't cause necessity.
- "If God knows I will eat beans on toast for tea it will, necessarily happen' and 'I will necessarily eat beans on toast for tea'
- Aquinas see difficulties in squaring human freewill and God's omniscience
- William Lane Craig's barometer
- A barometer is used for determining the weather
- God's knowledge is infallible - represented by the barometer
- But knowledge dependant on humans - the weather
- 'like a barometer'
- Never fails
- Free to do anything except fool God in what you choose to do.
- Molina's Middle Knowledge
- God knows timelessly what ALL beings possibly will choose so he creates only those beings that ultimately bring about his will. Therefore he knows your choices but doesn't control them.
- Some philosophers will question what the purpose is? What sort of purpose involves Hitler?
- But could individuals like Hitler be linked to Irenaeus's theodicy and involve soul-making.
- Some philosophers will question what the purpose is? What sort of purpose involves Hitler?
- God knows timelessly what ALL beings possibly will choose so he creates only those beings that ultimately bring about his will. Therefore he knows your choices but doesn't control them.
- Problem of Omniscience and freewill
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