The modal problem of creatio ex nihilo
I first provide an interpretation of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo based on the Fourth Lateran Council, according to which God creates from nothing if and only if God creates everything except God Himself. I then show that this doctrine entails the modal problem that it is both possible and not...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2020]
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| In: |
International journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 88, Issue: 2, Pages: 197-213 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Creatio ex nihilo
/ Modality
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism NBC Doctrine of God NBD Doctrine of Creation |
| Further subjects: | B
Creatio ex nihilo
B Divine Freedom B Divine Omnipotence B Modality |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | I first provide an interpretation of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo based on the Fourth Lateran Council, according to which God creates from nothing if and only if God creates everything except God Himself. I then show that this doctrine entails the modal problem that it is both possible and not possible that there is nothing at all except God, or alternatively, that it is both necessary and not necessary that there is something else besides God. I proceed to examine several proposals to solve the problem, and find them all inadequate. Therefore, I conclude that creatio ex nihilo violates modal logic and is necessarily false. |
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| ISSN: | 1572-8684 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s11153-019-09735-w |