(August 26, 2018 at 2:35 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:(August 25, 2018 at 10:26 pm)robvalue Wrote: I thought I'd address a point brought up about omniscience somewhere else. It was claimed that an omniscient being makes perfect decisions.
This is a reasonable statement, but only once you consider that it must be perfect for some purpose. A decision can't be perfect in all regards, that doesn't make any sense. For example, I might make a decision which is perfect for maximizing my own happiness. That doesn't mean it's perfect for anyone else's happiness, nor for achieving any other goal you could think of.
Even if you include multiple goals, some sort of weighting between them must still be given; and it's presumably impossible to achieve two contradictory goals, even if you're omnipotent.
Yes. I've attacked the concept based upon the arbitrariness of God possessing specific values here and there about the forum. As Dostoevsky said, "If everything on earth were rational, nothing would happen." Actions are driven by values, not by reason and knowledge alone. Having one set of values is no more rational than having another set of values. As you note, what God is perfect for in regards to purpose is ultimately based on values, so there is no one solution to the question of what makes a God perfect, as seems to be assumed by traditional theology. The bible speaks of God being perfect, but primarily with respect to moral values. It has been an assumption that God is morally perfect, but values go far beyond questions of morals. The whole values question is a lacuna in traditional theology.
(You might also be interested in the post I wrote questioning why God would have values at all, here.)
That's a great post there, thank you I agree with your conclusion.
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