Blackwell Reference Online

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Philosophical reflection on theism has produced two controversial theses connecting the concepts of God and necessity. Many theists, emphasizing the difference between God and creatures, have insisted that although the existence of creatures is a contingent matter, God's existence is necessary. Some theists, in an effort to stress God's sovereignty over everything, have claimed that God's creative activity is responsible not only for all contingent matters, but also for all necessary matters. Taken separately, each thesis has drawn philosophical criticism. Taken together, they appear to be incompatible. If God's existence is necessary, then there would seem to be at least one necessary truth for which God is not responsible - the truth that God exists necessarily. Someone inclined to defend both theses must be prepared to argue that God's necessary existence is compatible with God's complete sovereignty. Philosophical assessment of the theses requires analysis of the notion of necessary truth. Prospects are bleak for producing a definition of necessary truth that does not presuppose the concept under definition ( Adams 1983 ). For example, the characterization of a necessary truth as a proposition, p , whose negation entails a contradiction is doubly indebted to the concept. For what distinguishes a contradiction from other types of proposition that might be entailed by the negation ... log in or subscribe to read full text