The very idea of design: what God couldn't do

This paper argues for the proposition that there is a fundamental incoherence in the idea of a divine designer. Such a being would have to have intentions and thoughts prior to designing and making a world. But it is a necessary truth that thought - of the complex and articulated kind necessary for...

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Veröffentlicht in:Religious studies
1. VerfasserIn: Kortum, Richard D. (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch/Druck Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Cambridge Univ. Press 2004
In: Religious studies
Jahr: 2004, Band: 40, Heft: 1, Seiten: 81-96
normierte Schlagwort(-folgen):B Schöpfung / Sprache
RelBib Classification:AB Religionsphilosophie; Religionskritik; Atheismus
NBD Schöpfungslehre
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Zusammenfassung:This paper argues for the proposition that there is a fundamental incoherence in the idea of a divine designer. Such a being would have to have intentions and thoughts prior to designing and making a world. But it is a necessary truth that thought - of the complex and articulated kind necessary for the design of a cosmos - presupposes possession of language. It is further necessarily true that language is impossible, save for beings who inhabit a public world containing other linguistic subjects. The divine designer would be the impossible exemplar of the private language, whose incoherence was demonstrated by Wittgenstein. Objections to this line of argument are noted and rebutted.
ISSN:0034-4125
Enthält:In: Religious studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0034412503006826