Saturday, November 20, 2010

God Has No Free Will

Assumptions:
  • There is a God who is a personal being and all knowing.
  • Humans are personal beings but are limited in our knowledge
  • Personal beings have free will

In order to have free will, you must have more than one option, each of which is avoidable. This means that before you make a choice, there must be a state of uncertainty before the decision is final.

A being who knows everything can have no "state of uncertainty". There are no options to weigh. It knows in advance what it will do for all eternity. Since it has no choice it has no free will.

Since a being that lacks free will is not a personal being, a personal being who knows everything cannot exist.

So, we can now logically conclude that omniscience, and free will, are completely incompatible.

To refine the argument :
  1. God is defined as a personal being who knows everything.
  2. Personal beings have free will.
  3. In order to have free will, you must have more than one option, each of which is avoidable. This means that before you make a choice, there must be a state of uncertainty during a period of potential: you cannot know the future. Even if you think you can predict your decision, if you claim to have free will, you must admit the potential (if not the desire) to change your mind before the decision is final.
  4. A being who knows everything can have no "state of uncertainty". It knows its choices in advance.
  5. A being that knows its choices in advance has no potential to avoid its choices, and therefore lacks free will.
  6. Since a being that lacks free will is not a personal being, a personal being who knows everything cannot exist.
  7. Therefore, a personal God does not exist.


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