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    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

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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 Created things are not truly agents

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

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Aquinas's doctrine of secondary causation holds that creatures genuinely cause effects through their own natures, not merely as instruments of divine action.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.A cause can be real and efficacious even when itself dependent on a prior cause, as evidenced by the coherence of causal chains in Aristotelian physics.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Al-Ghazali's occasionalism was explicitly rejected by Averroes, who argued that denying natural causation in creatures undermines the intelligibility of science.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If being acted upon disqualifies something from being a true agent, then even the Unmoved Mover, moved by its own final causality, would fail the criterion.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Created things are both passive and active
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Being truly an agent requires acting without being acted upon
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.