Molinism, Question-Begging, and Foreknowledge of Indeterminates
John Martin Fischer’s charge that Molinism does not offer a unique answer to the dilemma of divine foreknowledge and human freedom can be seen as a criticism of middle knowledge for begging the question of FF (foreknowledge and freedom)-compatibilism. In this paper, I seek to answer this criticism i...
| Published in: | Perichoresis |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sciendo, De Gruyter
2018
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| In: |
Perichoresis
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism KDB Roman Catholic Church NBC Doctrine of God NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
Molinism
providence
foreknowledge
free will
open theism
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| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | John Martin Fischer’s charge that Molinism does not offer a unique answer to the dilemma of divine foreknowledge and human freedom can be seen as a criticism of middle knowledge for begging the question of FF (foreknowledge and freedom)-compatibilism. In this paper, I seek to answer this criticism in two ways. First, I demonstrate that most of the chief arguments against middle knowledge are guilty of begging the question of FF-incompatibilism and conclude that the simple charge of begging the question cannot be as problematic as some suggest. Determinists and open theists incorporate FF-incompatibilist notions into their respective versions of the grounding objection, their conceptions of risk and libertarian freedom, and their requirements for divine foreknowledge. Thus, while I admit that Molinism does rely upon Ockhamist and Augustinian principles in its approach to the dilemma and is guilty of presupposing FF-compatibilism, I deny that this undermines its strength as a model of providence. Second, I argue that, although all models are guilty of question-begging moves, they are not all on par with one another. Molinism offers a more orthodox and robust approach to providence than open theism and process theology, and it handles empirical data (e.g., from science) better than all of its competitors. |
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| ISSN: | 2284-7308 |
| Contains: | In: Perichoresis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2478/perc-2018-0011 |