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    Omnipotence cannot be analyzed simply as the power to bri... — Carmelics
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    Omnipotence cannot be analyzed simply as the power to bring about any contingent state of affairs.

    Divine Attributes
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.An omnipotent being cannot actualize states of affairs that are self-contradictory, such as a stone too heavy for it to lift.
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    • 2.Self-contradictory states of affairs are not genuine contingent states of affairs, but pseudo-possibilities masked by grammatical form.
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    • 3.Therefore, the simple 'any contingent state of affairs' formulation fails to exclude these pseudo-possibilities, rendering it analytically inadequate.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Mavrodes observed that some tasks are agent-relative: their possibility depends essentially on facts about the agent attempting them.
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    • 2.No formulation of omnipotence purely in terms of contingent states of affairs can capture agent-relative logical constraints without collapsing into incoherence.
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    • 3.Flint and Freddoso's account of omnipotence must therefore index power to what is feasible for a being given its essential nature, exceeding the simple formulation.
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    Reasons Against

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    • There can be contingent states of affairs that an omnipotent agent is powerless to bring about.
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    Related

    An omnipotent being cannot actualize states of affairs that are self-contradicto...Flint and Freddoso's account of omnipotence must therefore index power to what i...Mavrodes observed that some tasks are agent-relative: their possibility depends ...No formulation of omnipotence purely in terms of contingent states of affairs ca...
    +3 moreShow less
    Self-contradictory states of affairs are not genuine contingent states of affair...There can be contingent states of affairs that an omnipotent agent is powerless ...Therefore, the simple 'any contingent state of affairs' formulation fails to exc...

    Similar

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    Source

    AI-extracted
    SEP: omnipotence
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    It might now be conjectured that omnipotence can be analyzed simply as the power to bring it about that any contingent state of affairs obtains. However, the following list of contingent states of affairs shows that there can be contingent states of affairs that an omnipotent agent is powerless to bring about, and hence that this simple analysis is inadequate:

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit