If numerical identity is sortal-relative, the Father and Son can be the same God yet distinct persons without contradiction, undermining the premise that they are simply 'non-identical'.

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1 reason against

Reasons For

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Reason for

1.Identity conditions vary by sortal: 'same water' and 'same H2O molecule' apply different criteria, so 'same God' and 'same person' can differ legitimately.
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2.Relative identity dissolves the contradiction by rejecting the assumption that identity is univocal across all contexts and conceptual schemes.
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3.Classical logic permits 'x=y relative to sortal S and x≠y relative to sortal T' without violating non-contradiction if we reject absolute identity.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.Sortal-relative identity lacks clear metaphysical grounding: what makes identity 'relative' to a concept rather than a feature of reality itself?
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2.The Father and Son being distinct persons yet identical as God invokes relative identity but also requires they differ in at least one property (personhood), making absolute non-identity unavoidable.
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3.Sortal relativism risks trivializing identity: if anything can be identical-relative-to-some-sortal, the claim loses explanatory power for the Trinity specifically.
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Key Terms

Father and Son(as used in Christian theology and philosophy of religion): In Christian theology, two persons within the Trinity: God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ), understood as distinct persons while being one God.
Premise: A premise is a statement or fact that you assume to be true as a starting point for reasoning or making an argument. Think of it as the foundation or building block you use to reach a conclusion—for example, "All dogs are animals" and "My pet is a dog" are premises that lead to the conclusion "My pet is an animal." Premises are essentially the evidence or claims you offer before drawing a final conclusion.
Sortal-relative(describes how identity works according to Geach): Dependent on what *kind* or *category* of thing you're talking about; the answer changes based on whether you're asking about it as a person, a body, a statue, etc.
contradiction(Relevant to distinguishing contradictions from false contingent statements in the logic student variant of the preface paradox.): A statement that is necessarily false in all interpretations; in this context, specifically the negation of a tautology or any falsehood drawn from a list containing only tautologies and contradictions.
distinct persons(Morris's proposed weakening of the standard criterion for personal distinctness): Persons are distinct if it is possible that their wills differ in any respect.
numerical identity(Distinguished from qualitative similarity when discussing whether a tailed cat and a tailless cat are the same individual.): The relation an entity bears to itself and nothing else; being one and the same individual entity rather than merely qualitatively similar.

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Trinity1 linked

Classical logic permits 'x=y relative to sortal S and x≠y relative to sortal T' ...Identity conditions vary by sortal: 'same water' and 'same H2O molecule' apply d...Relative identity dissolves the contradiction by rejecting the assumption that i...Sortal relativism risks trivializing identity: if anything can be identical-rela...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit