Whether human free will is compatible with the existence of an
omniscient God is a question that has troubled philosophers for
centuries. If God is omniscient, then he has comprehensive knowledge of
the past, present, and future, including our own future actions. And if
God has long known what we will do in the future, it has already been
settled what our future actions will going to be. But if our future
actions have already been settled, it is not within our power to act in a
different way. Therefore, it is not within our power to act differently
from what has long been foreknown by God. We have no free will. This
is, in a nutshell, the problem of theological fatalism. This course is
focused on this problem. In particular, we will examine a well-known
solution to this problem due to the medieval philosopher William of
Ockham. Ockham’s solution to the problem of theological fatalism has
been particularly influential in current discussions concerning the
problem. In this course, we will read the relevant texts from Ockham, as
well as relevant articles from contemporary philosophers that are
relevant for Ockhamism. The main goal is to analyze the plausibility of
Ockhamist solutions to theological fatalism. There is no textbook for
this course. A list of articles and relevant readings will be provided
in the course website, as well as the articles themselves.
- Dozent/in: Fabio Lampert
- Dozent/in: Manuela Schlünß