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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for philosophy of religion
Main Author: Ho, Pao-Shen 1980- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V [2020]
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Creatio ex nihilo / Modality
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)
Description
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.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-019-09735-w