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Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 10:01 pm
A thought experiment consisting of two scenarios and follow up questions:
Scenario A: In this scenario, we have an apparently omniscient Being. As far as the Being is aware, it knows and understands everything that there is to know and understand. It is also the case, in this scenario, that the being happens to be correct that it knows and understands everything there is to know and understand.
Scenario B: This scenario is identical to the first in, insofar as we have an apparently omniscient Being that appears to know and understand everything there is to know and understand. The only difference is, that in this scenario, the being is wrong.
Question A: How could an omniscient Being determine which of the two scenarios it was actually in?
Question B: Is the Being really omniscient, if it cannot even determine which of the two scenarios it inhabits?
Question C: Is omniscience possible?
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 10:04 pm
How far short of 'omniscience' is being number 2 ??
99%
50%
1%
0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%
????????????????
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 10:07 pm
This thought experiment makes no logical sense.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 10:07 pm
I'd argue that no being CAN be omniscient, because it cannot know whether it is part of a bigger whole-- for example a collection of multiple beings, isolated from each other, who each think they are omniscient.
And what is an omniscient being who can't know for sure whether it is omniscient? It is a paradox-- it cannot exist. So, there cannot be an omniscient being, even God.
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 10:38 pm
I think if you exempt those things which are not logically possible to know from the definition of omniscience, one could still have an omniscient being.
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 11:44 pm
You mean things like does he know a question he can't answer?
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 18, 2015 at 11:56 pm
(This post was last modified: April 18, 2015 at 11:58 pm by robvalue.)
As a quick sideline, it's come up many times that omniscience and free will are not compatible; even god's free will. Unless you drop God knowing what will happen in the future as being logically impossible, I suppose.
Trying to get a theist to "choose" between these two is painful.
"Mummy I want both!"
"You can't have both, you get one big birthday present. You have to choose."
"Fuck you mummy, I saw you with the pool boy!"
"Of course you can have both."
Wait... what was I saying?
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RE: Omniscience: A thought experiment
April 19, 2015 at 12:04 am
I've seen this question before posed within the framework of solipsism. Is the OP trying to make a comment in that direction?
I can't remember where this verse is from, I think it got removed from canon:
"I don't hang around with mostly men because I'm gay. It's because men are better than women. Better trained, better equipped...better. Just better! I'm not gay."
For context, this is the previous verse:
"Hi Jesus" -robvalue
