View Single Post
Old 03-28-2007, 04:24 AM   #24 (permalink)
asaris
Mad Philosopher
 
asaris's Avatar
 
Location: Washington, DC
The doctrine of divine simplicity depends on a certain sense of simple. To use a simplistic (hah!) example, when Christians say God is simple, they don't mean he's stupid. What they mean is that God is identical to himself and completely indivisible to the point of also being identical to his properties. For example, a potato chip may instantiate the property of being good. But God is goodness itself. Also, your chip analogy falls apart because the potato is not, in itself, fully chip, but Jesus is fully God.

I don't get why you say God must be a subjective phenomenon just because people disagree about the best way to worship him (among other things). I'm sure that my friends and family, even those who know me best, disagree about how to worship --- erm, strike that --- make me happy. My sister has a different idea about what to get me for my birthday from my best friend. That doesn't mean I'm a subjective phenomenon (assuming I understand what you mean by that term.

I understand your objection to #2, but think it's insufficient. If I can form some conception of something in my head, not merely thinking the words 'round square' but actually conceiving of something like a 'unicorn', that's a good prima facie case that that thing is possible. That puts the burden of proof on the person who wants to say that it is, in fact, impossible. It's not that difficult -- just derive a contradiction of the form "p & ~p" from the concept you're trying to show is impossible.
__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche
asaris is offline  
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73