The Devil's Dilemma in Flaubert' Saint Antony

In La Téntation de Saint Antoine Gustave Flaubert dramatizes a philosophical exchange about the nature of divine providence and the efficacy of petitionary prayer. The Devil and Antony consider the question of whether God can be called upon for relief from suffering. The Saint assumes as popular rel...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jacquette, Dale (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Wiley-Blackwell 1998
In: Heythrop journal
Year: 1998, Volume: 39, Issue: 2, Pages: 140-147
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1781941505
003 DE-627
005 20211211043237.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 211211s1998 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1111/1468-2265.00069  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1781941505 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1781941505 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a Jacquette, Dale  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
245 1 4 |a The Devil's Dilemma in Flaubert' Saint Antony 
264 1 |c 1998 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a In La Téntation de Saint Antoine Gustave Flaubert dramatizes a philosophical exchange about the nature of divine providence and the efficacy of petitionary prayer. The Devil and Antony consider the question of whether God can be called upon for relief from suffering. The Saint assumes as popular religion teaches that it is possible to ask for God's help in emergency situations, while the Devil poses a dilemma to challenge Antony's faith. The Devil seeks to expose contradictions in some of the beliefs Antony holds about God's infinite perfection. The Devil's argument purports to prove that God is not a person, and that for this reason God is inaccessible to human interaction. The Devil's dilemma is supposed to be this: (1) If God as an infinitely perfect being created the universe, then divine providence is not needed [does not exist]. (2) If divine providence is needed [exists], then the universe is defective [not the creation of God as an infinitely perfect being]. Although these look at first to be the opposite poles of an excluded middle, propositions (1) and (2) are mere contrapositives. Since the Devil's propositions (1) and (2) are logically equivalent, the Devil can only proceed to the conclusion that God does not exist or that divine providence is not needed or does not exist paradoxically by assuming that God exists or that divine providence is needed or exists. Yet if divine providence is needed or exists, then God exists as its divine source. If the Devil is supposed to succeed by logic, his dilemma as Flaubert portrays it is powerless to prove that the only reasonable religious attitude is an impassionate metaphysical acknowledgement of the existence of an impersonal infinitely perfect Substance, which is absolute unchanging unmoveable Being. 
601 |a Dilemma 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Heythrop journal  |d Oxford [u.a.] : Wiley-Blackwell, 1960  |g 39(1998), 2, Seite 140-147  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)320573052  |w (DE-600)2016721-0  |w (DE-576)094425485  |x 1468-2265  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:39  |g year:1998  |g number:2  |g pages:140-147 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2265.00069  |x Resolving-System  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2265.00069  |x Verlag  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
935 |a mteo 
936 u w |d 39  |j 1998  |e 2  |h 140-147 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4019074488 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1781941505 
LOK |0 005 20211211043237 
LOK |0 008 211211||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 035   |a (DE-Tue135)IxTheo#2021-12-09#DF27F3E964A8A724295D85636A4525419AF31AC9 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixrk  |a zota 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw