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    If 'necessary existence' is not a coherent property, the ... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The prime task for the philosophical theist is to demonstrate that God is not impossible.

    If 'necessary existence' is not a coherent property, the dichotomy between impossibility and necessity collapses, and demonstrating non-impossibility proves nothing about actual existence.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Necessary existence requires a thing to exist in all possible worlds, which violates the principle that existence is a contingent fact requiring external explanation.
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    • 2.Modal logic conflates logical possibility with metaphysical possibility, allowing incoherent concepts like 'self-caused existence' to seem rigorous.
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    • 3.If non-impossibility sufficed for existence, abstract objects, unrealized potentials, and logical constructs would all be actual—a reductio of the inference.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Necessary existence is coherent in standard modal semantics: it simply means truth in all possible worlds, with no special metaphysical baggage required.
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    • 2.The dichotomy between impossibility and necessity stands independently; rejecting one specific necessity claim doesn't collapse the logical framework itself.
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    • 3.Non-impossibility plus additional premises (like causal principles or explanatory closure) can legitimately establish existence without relying solely on modality.
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    Key Terms

    Coherent property(logic and metaphysics)
    A characteristic or quality that makes logical sense and doesn't contradict itself. If a property is incoherent, it's impossible even to imagine it existing.
    Impossibility and necessity(modal logic and metaphysics)
    Two opposite ends of a spectrum: impossibility means something cannot exist under any circumstances, while necessity means something must exist. When these concepts 'collapse,' it means the clear boundary between them breaks down.
    Modal logic(logic)
    A system of logic that deals with concepts like possibility, necessity, and what could or must be true.
    Necessary existence(Contrasted with contingent existence in discussion of God's mode of being)
    Existence that is not contingent; the being does not just happen to exist or not exist.
    Non-impossibility(modal logic)
    Simply meaning something is not impossible—that it's at least logically possible for it to exist, even if it might not actually exist in reality.
    dichotomy(Refers to one of Zeno's paradoxes of motion)
    A paradox so named because it involves repeated division into two

    Connections

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    Natural Theology1 linked

    Related

    If non-impossibility sufficed for existence, abstract objects, unrealized potent...Modal logic conflates logical possibility with metaphysical possibility, allowin...Necessary existence is coherent in standard modal semantics: it simply means tru...Necessary existence requires a thing to exist in all possible worlds, which viol...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    +3 moreShow less
    Non-impossibility plus additional premises (like causal principles or explanator...The dichotomy between impossibility and necessity stands independently; rejectin...The prime task for the philosophical theist is to demonstrate that God is not im...