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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Aquinas's doctrine of divine simplicity holds that God knows all things through a single, identical act of self-knowledge, bypassing any requirement for a totality-set.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.A single act cannot intelligibly grasp logically distinct truths (God knows both that A is true and that not-A is false) simultaneously.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If God's knowledge is purely self-referential, it's unclear how it extends to contingent facts about creatures independent of God's will.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Divine simplicity makes God's omniscience appear to conflate knowing-that with mere logical necessity, losing explanatory power.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.A composite God with distinct knowledge-acts would depend on parts, making God dependent on composition rather than absolutely necessary.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Self-knowledge is God's most perfect cognition; other knowledge derives from understanding His own infinite essence and possibilities.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Divine simplicity avoids the regress problem: without it, God's knowledge of knowledge requires further knowledge ad infinitum.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

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