Who is almighty?

Peter Geach recommended conceiving of God as almighty, not as omnipotent. I argue that Geach's heuristic explanation of almightiness does not provide a workable definition, and I propose one on his behalf. The resulting notion turns out to have precisely those theoretical virtues that Geach adv...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kodaj, Daniel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2019
In: Religious studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 57, Issue: 2, Pages: 317-332
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Geach, P. T. 1916-2013 / God / Omnipotence / Religious philosophy
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
NBC Doctrine of God
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Summary:Peter Geach recommended conceiving of God as almighty, not as omnipotent. I argue that Geach's heuristic explanation of almightiness does not provide a workable definition, and I propose one on his behalf. The resulting notion turns out to have precisely those theoretical virtues that Geach advertised: it is immune to the logical puzzles that bedevil omnipotence, and it is better suited to religious contexts than the notion of maximal power that informs typical definitions of omnipotence.
ISSN:1469-901X
Contains:Enthalten in: Religious studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0034412519000246