This original analysis examines the three leading traditional solutions to the dilemma of divine foreknowledge and human free will--those arising from Boethius, from Ockham, and from Molina. Though all three solutions are rejected in their best-known forms, three new solutions are proposed, and Zagzebski concludes that divine foreknowledge is compatible with human freedom. The discussion includes the relation between the foreknowledge dilemma and problems about the nature of time and the causal relation; the logic of counterfactual conditionals; and the differences between divine and human knowing states. An appendix introduces a new foreknowledge dilemma that purports to show that omniscient foreknowledge conflicts with deep intuitions about temporal asymmetry, quite apart from considerations of free will. Zagzebski shows that only a narrow range of solutions can handle this new dilemma. A compelling contribution to the field, The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge will appeal to students and scholars of theistic philosophy and the philosophy of religion.
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"Informed, clear, and highly illuminating discussion."--Philosophical Review
"The most balanced, thorough, and compelling treatment of the issues to date....This is an important study and will be a standard reference for years to come."--Choice
"A competent, technically detailed, and unpolemical exposition of contemporary currents of thought on this perenially engaging topic....Rewards the reader with frequent bursts of incisive commentary."--The Thomist
"A reliable, often insightful, introduction to these debates."--Times Literary Supplement
"Zagzebski is a rigorous, careful thinker. She has produced a truly stimulating book. It deserves close attention and will amply repay it."--Ethics
"I know of no other book that so clearly sets forth the full range of traditional and contemporary perspectives on the foreknowledge dilemma. It will therefore prove to be of great value to the philosophical community."--Review of Metaphysics
"As will be apparent, the sensitive eliciting and application of various intuitions plays an important role in Zagzebski's book. I believe this is a real strength of the work....This is a remarkably inventive book, and in addition a genuine pleasure to read. It should be enjoyed by all philosophers who are even mildly interested in the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge.:Philosophy of Religion
About the Author
Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski is at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent review of the foreknowledge/freedom problem.,
By Bob "bobsacamento" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge (Paperback)
This book is not necessarily the best place to begin an investigation of the problem of divine foreknowledge vs. human freedom. Linda Zagzebski definitely writes for an audience of folks who actually argue about this stuff for a living. But it is a book that you will eventually have to read if you want to investigate this problem in any depth. Zagzebski offers the best summary of the historically proposed solutions to this problem (and the problems they themselves engender) of which I am aware. She makes a proposal of her own to this problem and then, in the practice of the best philosophers, leaves the reader with even more severe freedom/foreknowledge problems in need of solution.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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foreknowledge dilemma, argument from accidental necessity, argument for logical fatalism, infallible foreknower, argument for theological fatalism, actual world than any world, necessity per accidens, essential omniscience, logical fatalist, foreknowledge problem, foreknowledge case, freedom and foreknowledge, foreknowledge issue, counterfactual power, middle knowledge, causal contingency, counterfactual dependency, compatibilist position, possible worlds interpretation, true counterfactuals, subjunctive conditionals, infallible foreknowledge, two more solutions, temporal asymmetry, strict equivalence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Ockhamist Solution, Causal Relations, The Foreknowledge Dilemmas, The Molinist Solution, Two More Solutions of My Own, The Story of the World, Thomistic Ockhamism, Transfer of Necessity Principle, William of Ockham, Marilyn Adams, William of Sherwood, Second World War, Accidental Necessity Version, Linda Zagzebski, John Pollock, Battle of Hastings, Summa Theologiae, Timeless Knowledge Dilemma Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
foreknowledge dilemma, argument from accidental necessity, argument for logical fatalism, infallible foreknower, argument for theological fatalism, actual world than any world, necessity per accidens, essential omniscience, logical fatalist, foreknowledge problem, foreknowledge case, freedom and foreknowledge, foreknowledge issue, counterfactual power, middle knowledge, causal contingency, counterfactual dependency, compatibilist position, possible worlds interpretation, true counterfactuals, subjunctive conditionals, infallible foreknowledge, two more solutions, temporal asymmetry, strict equivalence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Ockhamist Solution, Causal Relations, The Foreknowledge Dilemmas, The Molinist Solution, Two More Solutions of My Own, The Story of the World, Thomistic Ockhamism, Transfer of Necessity Principle, William of Ockham, Marilyn Adams, William of Sherwood, Second World War, Accidental Necessity Version, Linda Zagzebski, John Pollock, Battle of Hastings, Summa Theologiae, Timeless Knowledge Dilemma Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
41
books
cite this book:
See all 41 books citing this book
- God and the Nature of Time (Ashgate Philosophy of Religion Series) (Ashgate Philosophy of Religion Series) by Garrett J. Deweese on 6 pages
- God, Time, and Eternity: The Coherence of Theism II: Eternity (v. 2) by W.L. Craig on 4 pages
- Analytic Philosophy of Religion by Brian J. Shanley on page 86, page 87, and page 92
- Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy) by Keith E. Yandell on page 340, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Religion And Morality (Ashgate Philosophy of Religion Series) (Ashgate Philosophy of Religion Series) by William J. Wainwright on page 115, and Back Matter
See all 41 books citing this book
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