Recent objections to perfect knowledge and classical approaches to omniscience

Patrick Grim and Einar Duenger Bohn have recently argued that there can be no perfectly knowing Being. In particular, they urge that the object of omniscience is logically absurd (Grim) or requires an impossible maximal point of all knowledge (Bohn). I argue that, given a more classical notion of om...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McCraw, Benjamin 1984- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Marquette Univ. Press [2016]
In: Philosophy & theology
Year: 2016, Volume: 28, Issue: 1, Pages: 259-270
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Grim, Patrick / God / Knowledge
IxTheo Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Patrick Grim and Einar Duenger Bohn have recently argued that there can be no perfectly knowing Being. In particular, they urge that the object of omniscience is logically absurd (Grim) or requires an impossible maximal point of all knowledge (Bohn). I argue that, given a more classical notion of omniscience found in Aquinas and Augustine, we can shift the focus of perfect knowledge from what that being must know to the mode of that being’s understanding. Since Grim and Bohn focus on the object rather than mode of God’s knowledge, this classical approach to omniscience undermines their objections.
ISSN:0890-2461
Contains:Enthalten in: Philosophy & theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5840/philtheol20167553