Dormant Dispositions, Agent Value, and the Trinity

Journal of Analytic Theology 7 (1):142-155 (2019)
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Abstract

In this paper we argue that the moral value of an agent is determined solely by their dispositions to act intentionally and freely. We then put this conclusion to work. It resolves a putative moral paradox first posed by Saul Smilansky, and it undermines a prominent line of argument for a variety of Trinitarian theology. Finally, we derive our conclusion about the moral worth of agents not only from our initial series of thought experiments, but also from Abrahamic theism itself. This means that Smilansky’s paradox can only possibly be rehabilitated by an atheist, and that the aforementioned line of argumentation for the Trinity is radically self-undermining, since it relies upon the denial of a corollary of Abrahamic theism.

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Trinity.Dale Tuggy - 2010 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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References found in this work

How to speak of the colors.Mark Johnston - 1992 - Philosophical Studies 68 (3):221-263.
Three theses about dispositions.Elizabeth W. Prior, Robert Pargetter & Frank Jackson - 1982 - American Philosophical Quarterly 19 (3):251-257.
The Christian God.Richard Swinburne - 1994 - New York: Oxford University Press.

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