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    We can conclude that God has all perfections without pref... — Carmelics
    Home/Natural Theology
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    We can conclude that God has all perfections without prefixing 'According to the idea of God' to the premise that God's nature contains all perfections

    Natural TheologyProof of definition segments
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.God's nature is a true and immutable nature (TIN)
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    • 2.True and immutable natures exist in some way, independently of concrete or empirical reality
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    • 3.We can clearly and distinctly perceive that God's nature is a TIN
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.The inference from 'X's nature contains P' to 'X has P' is valid only if X's existence is already established independently.
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    • 2.Descartes' own distinction between essence and existence (Meditations V) undermines deriving actual perfections from conceptual natures alone.
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    • 3.A true and immutable nature entails only hypothetical necessity: IF God exists, THEN God has perfections—not categorical attribution.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Kant's critique establishes that 'existence' and its entailments are not predicates extractable from conceptual analysis of a subject's nature.
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    • 2.Attributing all perfections to God without the epistemic prefix smuggles existence into the analysis of essence, violating the analytic/synthetic distinction.
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    Topics

    Natural TheologyProof of definition segments

    Connections

    3 topics

    Divine Attributes2 linkedTruth & Knowledge1 linkedModality & Possibility1 linked

    Related

    A true and immutable nature entails only hypothetical necessity: IF God exists, ...Attributing all perfections to God without the epistemic prefix smuggles existen...Descartes' own distinction between essence and existence (Meditations V) undermi...God's TIN contains all perfections
    +5 moreShow less
    God's nature is a true and immutable nature (TIN)Kant's critique establishes that 'existence' and its entailments are not predica...The inference from 'X's nature contains P' to 'X has P' is valid only if X's exi...

    Similar

    Therefore, Descartes can only legitimately claim 'According to the ide...89%Premise (3) can only be legitimately stated as 'According to the idea ...88%God's TIN contains all perfections85%A being with all perfections (God) is really possible84%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: natural-theology
    View source passageHide passage
    Descartes’ reply to these objections involves the notion of a “true and immutable nature” (“TIN”) (AT 7.101ff.). Only some of our ideas of things that have TINs. Moreover, TINs themselves exist in some way, although they need not exist in concrete or empirical reality. Perhaps they are abstract objects, like numbers or sets (Descartes explicitly compares them to Plato’s Forms). In any case, the kind of existence TINs have is sufficient to undermine the second objection above: the divine essence—
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    True and immutable natures exist in some way, independently of concrete or empir...
    We can clearly and distinctly perceive that God's nature is a TIN
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit