Possible actions also include coming to know that one has never been omnipotent, which, since no one can know falsehoods, no omnipotent being could do. Such theories of omnipotence may be conveniently referred to as act theories. Traditionally, these divine inabilities are taken quite seriously, and are said to follow from God’s attribute of impeccability or necessary moral perfection. How do you really know? Mann, William E. 1977. (Intuitively, it is about both.) Let’s travel back to the fourth century BC and start with Eubulides of Miletus, the man who is credited as the inventor of paradoxes. First dreamed up by mathematician P.E.B. Then: (1)   If any being is necessarily morally perfect, then there is no possible world at which that being brings about E, (2)   If any being is omnipotent, then that being has the power to bring about E, (3)   If any being has the power to bring about E, then there is some possible world at which that being brings about E, (4)   No being is both necessarily morally perfect and omnipotent. From this brainteaser about distance and motion, Zeno drew the conclusion that all motion is actually impossible. Omnipotence Paradox is not a paradox in reality. In the best case there can be an impressive definition.However, th… http://www.theaudiopedia.com What is OMNIPOTENCE PARADOX? If this is so, then, despite being both omnipotent and morally perfect, God would bring about a world which was less than the best, such as, perhaps, the actual world. Even if we happen to encounter what we don’t know by chance, we wouldn’t know it and wouldn’t know to inquire. However, these definitions fall prey to the McEar objection and, more generally, open the door to all kinds of limitations on what an omnipotent being can do. After 1900, an omnipotent being could still bring about the latter state of affairs, though not the former. The impossibility of defining ‘omnipotence’. This is a paradox because: . Some philosophers have responded by arguing that there could not possibly be such a being as McEar (Wierenga 1983: 374-375). Additionally, this kind of view causes problems for various traditional religious views, such as the assertion by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews that it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18) since lying is a possible action. The problem of omnipotence, also known as the paradox of the stone, basically asks the simple question: “Could God create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?” This brings to mind all sorts of questions and realizations. Is all matter perpetually divisible? IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT During my time on YouTube, I've seen various different arguments between theists and non-theists. In this puzzle, Achilles races a tortoise. Although (1) is accepted by Leibniz and Ross, considerations related to necessary moral perfection and human freedom have led many philosophers to reject it. If, therefore, an analysis implies that certain conceivable beings who are not impressive with respect to their power count as omnipotent, then the analysis is inadequate. . Criticizes several recent theories of omnipotence (Rosenkrantz and Hoffman 1980; Flint and Freddoso 1983; Wierenga 1983) and argues that the God of ‘orthodox monotheism’ should not be regarded as omnipotent at all. Liar’s Paradox. If this doctrine is adopted, then the Stone Paradox is dissolved: If an omnipotent being could make contradictions true, then an omnipotent being could make a stone too heavy for it to lift and still lift it (Frankfurt 1964). In my article, ‘omnipotence’ is defined as the ability to carry out one’s will perfectly. Would this man be bald or not bald? A number of philosophers who have accepted the incompatibility of omnipotence with necessary moral perfection have regarded the latter as more central to religious notions of God, and have argued that divine omnipotence should therefore be rejected (Geach 1977; Morriston 2001; Funkhouser 2006). . In this article, omnipotence is defined as the ability to perfectly carry out one’s will. If we know the answer to the question we ask, how do we learn anything from asking? Mackie states that . The Limited And Unlimited Paradox displayed this. It has sometimes been thought that this problem could be solved simply by recognizing that creating a stone an omnipotent being cannot lift is an impossible action, and therefore an omnipotent being need not be able to perform it (Mavrodes 1963). The chief limitation of Wielenberg’s account is that it makes use of some unanalyzed notions whose analysis philosophers have found quite difficult. However, this line of objection fails to recognize that, in addition to the impossible action creating a stone an omnipotent being cannot lift, there are also such possible actions as creating a stone one cannot lift and creating a stone its creator cannot lift. But without observation, you’ll never really know. These proposed analyses are evaluated by several criteria. Atheological arguments based on the omnipotence paradox are sometimes described as evidence for countering theism. Philosophers have therefore attempted to state necessary and sufficient conditions for omnipotence. Where does one description end and another begin? The usual response, dating back at least to Aquinas, is to say that an action is possible, in the relevant sense, if and only if it consistent, that is, if it is not self-contradictory. The paradox provides examples of two outcomes, both of which leave god with limited powers, and therefore not omnipotent. The choice is up to God. Image ~ 05/14/2016 05/16/2016 ~ Carter Yancey. Rosenkrantz and Hoffman introduce a number of further qualifications, but the central point of their account is the notion of unrestricted repeatability. According to Wielenberg, omnipotence cannot be analyzed simply by consideration of which states of affairs an omnipotent being could or could not bring about. 1969. This is called The Liar Paradox, and it’s also from the time of Eubulides. The first sentence of this paragraph is a lie. If an omnipotent being is able to perform any action, then it should be able to create a task that it is unable to perform. Since the former state of affairs is not unrestrictedly repeatable, the inability to bring it about after 1900 is no bar to a being’s counting as omnipotent. This was a major blow to the dominant theories of the time. Let’s move up to more modern times and toy with a fun extension of The Liar Paradox called The Double Liar Paradox. Then it seems that it is not omnipotent, for there is something that it cannot do. If he does not shave himself, then he does not shave all men who do not shave themselves.[9]. Making a stone one cannot lift is a possible action, so, in order to count as omnipotent according to (1), a being must be able to perform it. This works with multiple objects, but we’ll start with just two. Some philosophers have attempted to meet this difficulty head-on by adopting particular theories of temporal facts (Flint and Freddoso 1983), while others have tried to sidestep the concern by formulating theories of temporal omnipotence which do not require a distinction between past and non-past facts. I have answered the omnipotence paradox here. Nevertheless, the rejection of (3) is defended by Wielenberg (2000), who argues by means of the following analogy. Argues that it is incoherent to suppose that a world containing evil was created by an omnipotent and perfectly good being. Jourdain, this brainteaser goes as follows: Take a flash card or a piece of paper. However, defenders of certain sorts of divine command theories of ethics are committed to the claim that God is morally perfect only in a trivial sense, and these views will have the result that (1) is false. Have fun with that one. Vesuvius’s erupting. Omnipotence is the property of being all-powerful; it is one of the traditional divine attributes in Western conceptions of God. The Stone Paradox is most effective against act theories. Let’s suppose you choose Door A and hope for the million. 25, Art. The omnipotence paradox provides arguments to dispute both the existence of an omnipotent god as well as the existence of omnipotence itself. Hence, this being cannot perform all actions (i.e. Could an omnipotent being create a stone too heavy for it to lift? Argues that omnipotence is incompatible with necessary moral perfection, and that omnipotence is not a perfection, and therefore should not be attributed to God. Here, you end up moving into an indefinite changing of sides—side A to side B on the card. Many philosophers of action take it as an axiom that there are no necessarily unexercised powers (or abilities, or capacities), and (3) is merely an instance of this general principle. Cowan, J. L. 1965. A possible state of affairs is a way the world could be. For instance, the claim, “If Caesar were offered a bribe of fifty talents, he would freely refrain from crossing the Rubicon,” is a counterfactual of freedom. More recently, James Ross has advocated a similar account, though Ross prefers a formulation in terms of states of affairs (Ross 1969: 210-213): (4) S is omnipotent =df for every contingent state of affairs p, whether p is the case is logically equivalent to the effective choice, by S, that p. Since every state of affairs must either obtain or not, and since two contradictory states of affairs cannot both obtain, an omnipotent being would have to will some maximal consistent set of contingent states of affairs (Ross 1980: 614), that is, some one possible world. Mind puzzles, brainteasers, or whatever you may call them are often fun and sometimes addictive. While intricate, this paradox has to do with the categories and lists we make and the relationship of the list itself to the items on the list. However, it is a necessary truth that if God makes 2 x 4 = 9, then 2 x 4 = 9. Similarly, for Ross, Caesar’s crossing the Rubicon is logically equivalent to God’s effectively choosing that Caesar cross the Rubicon. Since you don’t know what is actually behind your door, you’re still picking between two doors. ever. Libertarians, however, have generally not been satisfied, and have argued that an omnipotent being need not have the power to bring about such states of affairs as Caesar’s freely refraining from crossing the Rubicon. But from the halfway point, you’ll have to next cross the halfway point of the halfway point (three-quarters of the way from your house to the store). Another more modern brainteaser popularized by philosopher Bertrand Russell is Russell’s Paradox, a variation of which is called The Barber Paradox. The notion of an atemporal action has, however, been found difficult. But if the sentence you first wrote is false, as the second sentence claims, then the second sentence would also be false. The impossibility of necessary omnitemporal omnipotence. Pike’s view is, in essence, a rather complicated version of the claim that God is only contingently morally perfect, a view which some have regarded as extremely objectionable from a theological standpoint (Geach 1977). Leibniz and Ross are both proponents of the ontological argument for the existence of God, so they both regard this as a benefit of this theory of omnipotence. Even if you happen to bump right into it, how will you know it is the thing you didn’t know?” Socrates rephrased the paradox this way: “A man cannot search either for what he knows or for what he does not know. However, in his view, God’s effectively choosing that the agent so choose is logically equivalent to the agent’s so choosing, and so cannot be inconsistent with freedom (Ross 1980: sect. Therefore, as in the stone case, the omnipotent being could bring about someone’s coming to know that she is not omnipotent, but not an omnipotent being’s coming to know that it is not omnipotent. The view that an omnipotent being could do absolutely anything, even the logically absurd, is known as voluntarism. ... Ontological Defense The explanation for evil uncaused humans can be argued with another response called the ontological defense, an argument that states good could not exist without evil and evil could not exist without good. According to Plantinga, in order for creatures to be free, it must not be up to anyone else which counterfactuals of freedom are true of them, so even an omnipotent being could not bring it about that particular counterfactuals of freedom are true. So your odds are 50/50, right? For instance, Gary Rosenkrantz and Joshua Hoffman advocate the following analysis (Rosenkrantz and Hoffman 1980): (8) S is omnipotent at t =df  S is able at t to bring about any state of affairs p such that possibly some agent brings about p, and p is unrestrictedly repeatable. Thus, both sentences are right and wrong at the same time. 9). God, therefore, chooses whether Caesar will cross the Rubicon. You’ve been warned. In. Email: kpearce@usc.edu So if the hour goes by without observing the cat, the animal is theoretically both alive and dead—which we all know is absurd and impossible. Although the argument is usually initially stated in this form, as it stands it is not quite valid. Mavrodes, George I. Then the game show host opens another door at random to see if you won or lost. Omnipotence again. Our observation is what determines its state. Wouldn’t that make it both true and untrue at the same time? This is also called The Paradox of Density, and let’s put it a little differently. Some theists have simply accepted the conclusion, replacing either necessary moral perfection or omnipotence with some weaker property. 2006. Although not everyone agrees that La Croix’s response is satisfactory, it is widely held that the prospects are not good for a consistent general definition or analysis of omnipotence in terms of acts (Ross 1969: 202-210; Geach 1973; Swinburne 1973; Sobel 2004: ch. Furthermore, the stone paradox provides no reason to suppose there could not be a contingently omnitemporally omnipotent being; all the being in question would need to do is to decide not to create the stone, and then it would be omnipotent at every time. 3 argues that omnipotence should be understood as the ability to do anything that is absolutely possible, that is, that does not imply a contradiction. However, this doctrine is of questionable coherence. According to Leibniz, since it is possible that Caesar freely refrain from crossing the Rubicon, there must be a possible world which represents him as doing so. First. Suppose that it is a necessary truth about a certain being, known as McEar, that the only action he performs is scratching his ear. Must God create the best? Section 2 answers the objection that Ross’s theory leaves no room for human freedom (Mann 1977). A being of total actuality is entirely simple because of his unchanging nature. God creating men with free will, for if men's wills are really . As soon as the gun fires and the race begins, Achilles quickly closes in on the slow-moving tortoise. Although states of affairs can refer to agents, a state of affairs does not have an actor. . It is therefore not up to Caesar, at least not in the sense which (according to some philosophers) is required for free will. Since something atemporal is neither before nor after anything else, there cannot be an atemporal cause, and, therefore, there cannot be an atemporal action. According to Leibniz’s formulation, an omnipotent being would be able to actualize any possible world, but it is absurd to suppose that an omnipotent being should actualize a world in which it never existed. After a survey of Scholastic theories of omnipotence, Ross argues that no act theory of omnipotence can succeed. In order for (7) to succeed in dealing with the difficulties of temporal omnipotence, there must be a distinction between those facts which are, and those which are not, about the past. Instead, it is necessary to consider why the being could or could not bring them about. The problem is simil… This one can be seen on game shows everywhere. Only Caesar can strongly actualize Caesar’s freely refraining from crossing the Rubicon. However, (2) runs into the famous ‘McEar’ counter-example (Plantinga 1967: 170; La Croix 1977: 183). However, if Brutus knows that if Caesar were offered the bribe, he would freely refrain, then there is a sense in which Brutus can bring it about that Caesar freely refrains: Brutus can strongly actualize the state of affairs Caesar’s being offered the bribe, and he knows that if he does this then Caesar will freely refrain. 2 introduced the ‘McEar’ counterexample to certain definitions of omnipotence (p. 170). If we don’t know what we don’t know, how do we know what to look for? Does the Moon actually exist when you’re not looking at it? To give just one example of such a difficulty, it is widely held that acting requires one to be the cause of certain effects. Argues that every possible definition of omnipotence either renders omnipotence inconsistent with traditional divine attributes or falls prey to McEar-style counterexamples. But again, Achilles will quickly close in, crossing the additional 10 meters (33 ft). “If God is omnipotent, then he must be able to do absolutely anything.” (35 Marks) Classical omnipotence is often called ‘the simple, commonplace religious assertion’ and is key to the thinking of Descartes who said, “I would not even dare say that God cannot arrange a mountain should exist without a valley and that such things imply contradictions in my conceptions’. . Omnipotence is the topic of chapter 5. Omnipotence and God’s ability to sin. Could an omnipotent being draw a square circle? So, at what point can the things we observe be certain to exist (or exist in the state we observe them)? In order to meet these challenges, it is necessary to say something more precise than to simply affirm that an omnipotent being would be able to do whatever is possible. This approach hinges on the existence of a class of propositions known as counterfactuals of freedom. (Don’t worry, we picked easy ones that just about anybody can understand.). Eubulides came up with four fun brainteasers that require careful thinking to solve. 1983. We must distinguish between first order omnipotence (omnipotence (1)), that is unlimited power to act, and second order omnipotence (omnipotence (2)), that is unlimited power to determine what powers to act things shall have. But perhaps the most infuriating to watch is the conflict between theists and non-theists over the omnipotence paradox. Suppose, however, that a certain stone is too slippery for him to get a grip on. [5] How can this be possible? there is a fundamental difficulty in the notion of an omnipotent . Logical paradoxes are absurd statements that make sense and yet don’t at the same time. 9). Argues that a result theory can, and an act theory cannot, defeat the Stone Paradox. One response, considered by Alvin Plantinga and advocated by Richard La Croix, is to claim merely that an otherwise God-like being who satisfied this definition would be omnipotent. Divine omnipotence is typically used as a key premise in the famous argument against the existence of God known as the Logical Problem of Evil. If either quotation above is really a lie, then that statement is true and contradicts itself. This paradox only occurs when one assumes an incorrect understanding of the concept of omnipotence. If the nature of God is entirely simple, then all the divine attributes (omnipotence, omniscience, etc.) There is no problem for a being who is only omnipotent at certain times, because the being in question might very well be omnipotent prior to creating the stone (but not after). Consider the proposition, "God could create a round triangle" (add additional qualifiers, here and to the solution, if you feel there is not a true contradiction). If it is accepted that there are some possible states of affairs which it is impossible that an omnipotent being should bring about, a more complicated analysis of omnipotence is needed. This, however, is absurd (Ross 1980: 621). So Achilles still hasn’t caught the tortoise. Is the sentence a lie? Defends a result theory, and argues that a being like McEar is impossible. For instance, the sky’s being blue is a possible state of affairs, and John’s being a married bachelor is an impossible state of affairs. which describe his nature are entirely simple. To cite just one difficulty, it would seem to follow from the claim that God could make 2 x 4 = 9 that possibly God makes 2 x 4 = 9. If an omnipotent being is able to perform any action, then it should be able to create a task that it is unable to perform. Here’s a classic example of a fun little brainteaser called “The Paradox of Omnipotence” that’s been puzzling minds for centuries: Could God, being infallible and omnipotent, make a rock so heavy that even He could not lift it? The host chooses Door B, and it reveals a brick. 1980. Plantinga believes that it is logically impossible that any being other than Caesar should bring about the possible state of affairs such as Caesar’s freely choosing not to cross the Rubicon, for if Caesar’s not crossing the Rubicon had been brought about by some other being (for example, God), then Caesar would not have freely chosen. This is illustrative of the paradoxical problems of time-travel: let’s … The omnipotence paradox states that "Can god create a task that even he cant perform".. For instance can god create a rock that even he cant lift. The omnipotence paradox is a family of semantic paradoxes that explores what is meant by 'omnipotence'. On privileging God’s moral goodness. To be a nice guy (demigod), Achilles gives the tortoise a 100-meter (328 ft) head start because Achilles is an extremely fast runner and the tortoise is . At this point, it sounds counterintuitive to say that you have a two-thirds chance of getting the $1 million if you switch doors and a one-third chance if you stay put. Another brainteaser comes from Zeno in the form of Achilles and the Tortoise, which is similar to The Dichotomy Paradox. 2001. Ross then presents his own theory according to which a being is omnipotent if for any contingent state of affairs p, it is up to that being to choose whether p obtains. 7-8, 52, 416). If God is able to make a mountain heavier than He is able to lift, then there may be something He is not able to do: He is not able to lift that mountain. . So when do a few grains or a few hairs end and a whole heap or baldness actually begin?[1]. Further develops, and defends from objections, the account of omnipotence given in Ross 1969. What does OMNIPOTENCE PARADOX mean? Third, it is necessary to determine whether omnipotence, so understood, could form part of a coherent total religious view. However, an omnipotent being could presumably bring it about that it knows the true counterfactuals of freedom (or if the omnipotent being was also essentially omniscient, then it would already know), and it could presumably strongly actualize many of their antecedents, and so weakly actualize a variety of states of affairs in which non-omnipotent beings acted freely. First, it must be determined whether the property described by the analysis captures what theologians and ordinary religious believers mean when they describe God as omnipotent, almighty, or all-powerful. The Leibniz-Ross theory renders the problem even more acute. Ross’s definition therefore entails Leibniz’s. La Croix, Richard R. 1977. Evil and omnipotence. In a more sophisticated version of the experiment, you place a cat into a box with a jar of poison, a hammer, and a Geiger counter along with just enough radiation that there’s a 50/50 chance of the Geiger counter being set off within the hour. In no time, Achilles has crossed the 100 meters (328 ft) of the head start that he gave the tortoise. . Funkhouser, Eric. It is essential to McEar that he never bring about anything other than his own scratching of his ear. So, is there just one massive entity called the universe that contains indistinguishable matter of varying densities (air, the floor, a tree, etc.)? Morriston, Wes. "A person P is omnipotent at a time t if and only if he is able to bring about any logically contingent state of affairs x after t, the descriptions of which does not entail that P did not bring x about at t. This is subject to the restriction that a person is no less omnipotent for being unable to bring about a state of affairs if he believes that he has overriding reason not to bring it about. It only follows that if the being were to create the stone, then there would be something it could not do. There are further problems. For you to get there, you’ll have to cross the halfway point. (It is there.) It has also been argued that the existence of an omnipotent being would be inconsistent with human freedom. So, God is omni… How is this possible? The first sentence of this paragraph is a lie. Now, without lifting the lid to observe the cat, how do we know whether the cat is alive or dead? For instance, if there were no possible circumstance such that, if Caesar were in that circumstance, he would freely refrain from crossing the Rubicon, then even an omnipotent being could not weakly actualize Caesar’s freely refraining. It has been suggested that he may be implicitly committed to the rejection of one or more widely accepted modal axioms (Curley 1984). However, many philosophers have also held that it is part of the concept of a cause that it must occur before its effects. However, if someone else chooses what Caesar will do, then Caesar is not free. This approach, however, runs into McEar-style counterexamples. You’re left to choose between Door A and Door C. You can even switch to Door C now if you want. This is because, in this view, to exercise omnipotent power is to choose some particular possible world to be actual. Can you figure out why?[8]. But if even an omnipotent being could not bring it about, then surely Caesar, who is not omnipotent, could not bring it about either. Where is the line? For instance, philosophers disagree about whether the claim that an omnipotent being exists is necessarily true, necessarily false, or contingent.

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