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Classical theism and modal realism are incompatible

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

CHAD VANCE
CHAD VANCE*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23185, USA
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The classical conception of God is that of a necessary being. On a possible worlds semantics, this entails that God exists at every possible world. According to the modal realist account of David Lewis, possible worlds are understood to be real, concrete worlds – no different in kind from the actual world. But, modal realism is equipped to accommodate the existence of a necessary being in only one of three ways: (1) By way of counterpart theory, or (2) by way of a special case of trans-world identity for causally inert necessary beings (e.g. pure sets), or else (3) causally potent ones which lack accidental intrinsic properties. I argue that each of these three options entails unacceptable consequences – (1) and (2) are incompatible with theism, and (3) is incompatible with modal realism. I conclude that (at least) one of these views is false.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 561 - 572
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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