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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 God cannot be a deceiver.

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

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Some theological traditions, including Calvinist voluntarism and Ockham's divine command theory, hold that God's will is prior to and unconstrained by moral categories like honesty.
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      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If God's omnipotence entails that no external standard binds divine action, then 'deception constitutes a defect' is a constraint on God that undermines omnipotence.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Therefore, declaring deception impossible for God imposes a logical limitation on divine freedom that conflicts with robust accounts of divine omnipotence.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Descartes' own evil demon hypothesis in Meditation I demonstrates that a maximally powerful being capable of systematic deception is at least conceivable without logical contradiction.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If the non-deceiving nature of God must be established to escape radical doubt, then 'God cannot deceive' is doing epistemic work that cannot itself be grounded without circularity, as Arnauld's Cartesian Circle objection shows.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.An argument whose conclusion is required to validate its own premises provides no independent justification for the claim that God cannot be a deceiver.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.God is an infinite and perfect being.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.All fraud and deception depend on some defect.
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    • 3.A perfect being has no defects.
      ?

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    Next step

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