Philo

Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring-Summer 2000

Matt McCormick
Pages 5-19

Why God Cannot Think
Kant, Omnipresence, and Consciousness

It has been argued that God is omnipresent, that is, present in all places and in all times. Omnipresence is also implied by God’s knowledge, power, and perfection. A Kantian argument shows that in order to be self-aware, apply concepts, and form judgments, in short, to have a mind, there must be objects that are external to a being that it can become aware of and grasp itself in relationship to. There can be no external objects for an omnipresent God, so he cannot have a mind.