Divine action, determinism, and the laws of nature / Jeffrey Koperski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Koperski, Jeffrey, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Providence and government of God--Christianity.

Providence and government of God.

Determinism (Philosophy).

Religion and science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (160 pages) : charts; digital file(s).

Edition:

1 ed.

Place of Publication:

Taylor & Francis 2020

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.

Language Note:

English.

Summary:

"A longstanding question at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology is how God might act, or not, when governing the universe. Many believe that determinism would prevent God from acting at all, since to do so would require violating the laws of nature. However, when a robust view of these laws is coupled with the kind of determinism now used in dynamics, a new model of divine action emerges. This book presents a new approach to divine action beyond the current focus on quantum mechanics and esoteric gaps in the causal order. It bases this approach on two general points. First, that there are laws of nature is not merely a metaphor. Second, laws and physical determinism are now understood in mathematically precise ways that have important implications for metaphysics. The explication of these two claims shows not only that nonviolationist divine action is possible, but there is considerably more freedom available for God to act than current models allow. By bringing a philosophical perspective to an issue often dominated by theologians and scientists, this text redresses an imbalance in the discussion around divine action. It will, therefore, be of keen interest to scholars of Philosophy and Religion, the Philosophy of Science, and Theology"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Philosophy and divine action

Mapping the terrain

Nonviolation, quantum mechanics, and chaos

A brief history of the laws of nature

Philosophy of science and the laws of nature

Determinisms

Neoclassical special divine action

Four objections.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Creative Commons NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/http://www.oapen.org/download/?type=document&docid=1006511

Description based on e-publication, viewed on April 2, 2020.

ISBN:

0-429-63958-9

0-429-02911-X

9780429029110

OCLC:

1123184033

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access