Quentin Lauer and Charles Taylor reconstruct from the Science of Logic a valid inference: the Absolute cannot be merely possible without contradiction, since possibility itself presupposes actuality.

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1 reason for

1 reason against

Reasons For

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Reason for

1.Possibility is a modal concept that requires an actual framework or domain within which things can be possible.
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2.An Absolute that lacks actuality would be dependent on something external to ground its possibility, contradicting absoluteness.
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3.Hegel's logic shows that mere potentiality is incomplete; actuality is necessary for logical coherence and necessity.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.The modal distinction between possibility and actuality may be irrelevant to a truly Absolute being that transcends such categories.
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2.One can coherently conceive of possibility without prior actuality: logical space exists independent of what instantiates it.
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3.This argument conflates epistemic conditions (how we know something) with ontological necessity (what must exist in reality).
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Key Terms

Charles Taylor(as a modern philosopher): An influential Canadian philosopher known for writing about human nature, identity, and how we interpret the world around us.
Presupposes(as describing what Plantinga's argument takes for granted): Assumes something to be true without proving it—like how an argument might presuppose that logic works, without first arguing that logic is valid.
Quentin Lauer(as a Hegel scholar): A 20th-century philosopher who specialized in studying Hegel's work and making it understandable to modern readers.
Science of Logic(as the specific text being discussed): Hegel's major work that describes how abstract concepts and categories develop and relate to each other, serving as the foundation for understanding reality itself.
actuality(Contrasted with non-actuality; ceasing to be actual is equated with death and the loss of all distinctively human properties): The state of being actual (as opposed to merely possible), associated with consciousness, embodiment, and lived human properties
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.
possibility(Ortega's philosophical framework; refers to the range of options confronting the individual within his or her environment): That which possesses potential actuality from the viewpoint of the individual's circumstances.
the Absolute(Used in the context of Romantic philosophy as an ultimate but unreachable ideal.): That which can never be fully determined and is pursued through an open-ended, striving commitment.

Connections

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Natural Theology1 linked

An Absolute that lacks actuality would be dependent on something external to gro...Hegel's logic shows that mere potentiality is incomplete; actuality is necessary...One can coherently conceive of possibility without prior actuality: logical spac...Possibility is a modal concept that requires an actual framework or domain withi...

Details

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