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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 is the simplest kind of person there can be.

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

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Simplicity in scientific theory applies to postulated entities within a framework of natural law, not to foundational ontological posits.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Swinburne's inference from 'infinite is simpler than finite' borrows Occam's razor from empirical methodology and misapplies it to metaphysical theology.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.A being with literally unlimited power, knowledge, and freedom is not a limiting case of personhood but a qualitative departure from it, making simplicity comparisons category-inappropriate.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Aquinas's doctrine of divine simplicity entails that God has no parts, properties, or distinctions, making 'infinite properties' an incoherent description of God.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If God genuinely has infinite power, knowledge, and freedom as distinct attributes, God is metaphysically complex in precisely the sense classical theists like Aquinas sought to deny.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.A person is a being with power, knowledge, and freedom.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.In God these properties are infinite.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Having infinite properties is simpler than having properties with limits.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Next step

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