Skip to main content
Log in

On the Incompatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom

  • Published:
Sophia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I argue that the simple foreknowledge view, according to which God knows at some time t 1 what an agent S will do at t 2 , is incompatible with human free will. I criticize two arguments in favor of the thesis that the simple foreknowledge view is consistent with human freedom, and conclude that, even if divine foreknowledge does not causally compel human action, foreknowledge is nevertheless relevantly similar to other cases in which human freedom is undermined. These cases include those in which certain human actions are logically, rather than causally, foreclosed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Hunt (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003).

  2. Zagzebski (1991, 1997, 2000).

  3. See Hunt (2001), pp. 75–76.

  4. See Hunt (2001), pp. 86–91, and Zagzebski (2000).

  5. Hunt (2001), pp. 89–90. Zagzebski (2000) and Zagzebski (1997) also appeal to Frankfurt cases.

  6. Hunt (2001), p. 90.

  7. Ibid.

  8. See, e.g., Pereboom (2000) for a development of this distinction.

  9. Zagzebski (1991), p. 154–62.

  10. Fischer (1982), pp 33–34. See also Zagzebski (1991), p. 156.

  11. On this independence criterion, see Zagzebski (1997), p. 295.

  12. Zagzebski (1997), p. 295.

  13. This argument is relevantly similar to that offered by Zagzebski (1991), pp. 154–61.

References

  • Fischer, J. M. (1982). Responsibility and Control. Journal of Philosophy, 79, 24–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, D. (1999). On Augustine’s way out. Faith and Philosophy, 16, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, D. (2001). The simple foreknowledge view. In J. Beilby & P. Eddy (Ed.), Divine foreknowledge: 4 Views. Intervarsity Press.

  • Hunt, D. (2002). On a theological counterexample to the principle of alternate possibilities. Faith and Philosophy, 19, 245–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, D. (2003). Freedom, foreknowledge, and frankfurt. In D. Widerker & M. McKenna (Eds.), Moral responsibility and alternative possibilities: essays on the importance of alternative possibilities (pp. 159–183). Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pereboom, D. (2000). Alternative Possibilities and Causal Histories. Philosophical Perspectives 14.

  • Zagzebski, L. (1991). The Dilemma of Foreknowledge and Freedom. Oxford University Press.

  • Zagzebski, L. (1997). Foreknowledge and human freedom. In P. L. Quinn & C. Taliaferro (Ed.), A companion to philosophy of religion. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  • Zagzebski, L. (2000). ‘Does Libertarian Freedom Require Alternate Possibilities?’ Philosophical Perspectives 14.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason Wyckoff.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wyckoff, J. On the Incompatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom. SOPHIA 49, 333–341 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-010-0168-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-010-0168-6

Keywords

Navigation