The London Lyceum Freedom and Foreknowledge with Roger Turner
Jul 22, 2020
Roger Turner, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, dives deep into the intriguing relationship between divine foreknowledge and human freedom. He challenges the notion that God's foreknowledge threatens our actions, explaining concepts like accidental necessity and moral responsibility. Turner explores open theism and its implications, critiques deterministic views, and argues for the centrality of moral responsibility in discussions of free will. His insights illuminate the complexities of faith, choice, and accountability in our lives.
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Two Competing Definitions Of Freedom
- Freedom often centers on doing what you want without coercion rather than metaphysical ability to do otherwise.
- Adding 'ability to do otherwise' changes the debate about freedom's compatibility with determinism.
The Naive Foreknowledge Argument Fails
- A naive modal argument from divine foreknowledge to lack of freedom is fallacious because it illicitly moves a necessity operator.
- You must frame a more nuanced, valid argument to show incompatibility.
Hard Facts And Accidental Necessity
- God's past beliefs, if treated as hard facts, make propositions about our actions unchangeably true.
- That apparent accidental necessity fuels the worry that we lack control over our actions.
