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Foreknowledge and Possibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Paul Helm*
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool

Extract

Professor Holt's comments fall into two parts. He begins by raising some objections to the tentative rejection, in my paper, of the distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ facts. He then goes on to offer an argument to show that my defence of the incompatibility of divine foreknowledge and human freedom fails, or is at least seriously questionable. For brevity I shall concentrate on his remarks on foreknowledge as I do not think that his interesting discussion of the distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ facts vitally affects the question about divine foreknowledge, the main point at issue.

So I shall deal with Holt's claim that one can have the power to undo the fact of foreknowledge retroactively and argue that one can no more retroactively bring it about that God did not know than one can retroactively bring it about that he did know.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 1976

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References

1 ‘Divine Foreknowledge and Facts', Canadian Journal of Philosophy, IV (1974-5), 305-15.

2 ‘Foreknowledge and the Necessity of the Past’ p. 728.

3 Ibid. p 729.

4 Ibid. p. 730.

5 Prior, A. N.The Formalities of Omniscience(Papers on Time and Tense, Oxford, 1968) p. 38.Google Scholar