Question

I have a question about an argument for why the world must be completely deterministic if there is an omniscient God and wanted to know about the validity of the argument.If the premise is that God exists and is omniscient then God knows the future. If the future is already known by someone then it has to be already determined.Someone must have thought about this before already. Is there any literature on this? Is this argument valid? No. While determinism could serve as a reason why a future is fixed and known to an outsider, determinism is not the only way this is possible philosophically. Gods could not be bound by time an basically see all history including the future at once, as if everything had already happened. Fatalism posits that some things are fated to happen, no matter what random things happen else, like a force that meddles with the universe to ensure certain future events. Note that there may also be different forms of omniscient beings, knowing the future in all details does not have to be included. Like the weather report being great about next week's weather, but not great about predicting next year's weather, a god could be great about predicting the next 100 years, but be less certain about the long term future, which would still feel like omniscient to puny humans. It depends on the nature of omniscience. IF God is inside time, then omniscience is not omniscience of the future, only of the past and present, and the nature of what might cause the future. As our physics is not deterministic, an omniscient God inside time does not imply determinism. However, if God is eternal, and unchanging, and outside time, then whether God is omniscient or not, the future is determined. This is because a God outside time necessitates that the future is accessible to God, and this is only true for Block Time. If our universe has Block Time, then the future and past have identical characteristics, so our future is as determined as our :// (philosophy_of_time) As a further observation, omniscience would require that God know the state of the universe. However, quantum mechanics behaves VERY differently for known vs unknown states, and our universe has multiple quantum interactions which could not happen if an omniscient being were aware of all quantum states at all times. Because quantum mechanics works, we can conclude there is no omniscient entity in our universe. If the omniscience includes knowing the entire future of every aspect of the universe before it happens, then emphatically Yes, this implies determinism. An omniscient God knows everything there is to know, but that doesn't necessarily include a perfect view of the future if that future is not determined. No, because of free will; free will breaks determinism.

God is omniscient, but He has given beings free-will. That means that he knows everything (in a specific moment) regarding past, present and future if nothing changes. Whenever a change is made (by free will) all things are re-arranged. This solves the paradox. According to the arguments presented in the passage, why does the existence of an omniscient God not necessarily imply determinism?

a) Omniscient Gods are not bound by time and can perceive the entire history, including the future, simultaneously.

b) Fatalism posits that certain future events are fated to happen, regardless of random occurrences.

c) Different forms of omniscient beings may have limitations in predicting the long-term future.

d) Quantum mechanics in our universe contradicts the idea of an omniscient entity knowing all quantum states at all times.

Answer 1

The relationship between divine omniscience and determinism is not straightforward; philosophical arguments present various views including the possibility of an atemporal God, the role of fatalism, the impact of quantum mechanics, and the Process philosophy's alternative interpretation of divine knowledge. Thus, omniscience does not necessarily imply a deterministic universe, highlighting the complexity of the debate within the philosophy of religion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The existence of an omniscient God is a deeply philosophical subject that intersects with notions of free will, determinism, and theology. The argument presented questions whether the omniscience of God necessarily implies a deterministic world. It is argued that God, if not bound by time, could perceive all history at once without necessitating a predetermined future, embodying a view different from strict determinism. Concepts like fatalism suggest that certain events may be predetermined, but this again does not require a completely deterministic universe. Furthermore, the unpredictable nature of quantum mechanics challenges the idea that an omniscient being could know all states of the universe without affecting those states, thereby providing a counterpoint to the notion that omniscience and determinism are necessarily intertwined.

Combing through various philosophical arguments, it's clear that omniscience does not automatically lead to determinism. For instance, arguments based on compatibilism attempt to reconcile free will with divine foreknowledge while incompatibilists argue against their coexistence. In addition, the Process philosophy introduces the idea that God, while omniscient, does not know the future due to the inherent self-determination of events, offering an alternative perspective to traditional theism. Thus, the debate around omniscience and determinism is complex and multi-faceted, without a universally accepted resolution.