Ep. #185 – A Response to the Aloneness Argument w/ Dr. Grant & Dr. Pawl
Summary
What is the aloneness argument against classical theism? How does it advance previous discussions on similar topics? What can classical theists say in response to the argument? In an alone world, how could the God of classical theism truly know that he is alone? Dr. W. Matthews Grant and Dr. Timothy Pawl join the podcast to discuss these questions and more.
Guest Bio
Dr. W. Matthews Grant and Dr. Timothy Pawl are both professors of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. Each of them has published numerous scholarly articles and other influential writings. Dr. Pawl has written two books on Christology: In Defense of Conciliar Christology and In Defense of Extended Conciliar Christology. Dr. Grant authored the 2019 book Free Will and God’s Universal Causality: The Dual Sources Account. And we have discussed these books by Pawl and Grant on previous episodes of the show.
Resources
The Aloneness Argument Against Classical Theism by R. T. Mullins & Joseph Schmid
The Aloneness Argument Fails by W. Matthews Grant & Timothy Pawl
Joe Schmid’s blog response to Grant & Pawl
Related Episodes
BONUS|Extended Conciliar Christology w/ Dr. Pawl
Ep. #121 – Divine Knowledge & Divine Simplicity w/ Christopher Tomaszewski
Ep. #150 – Free Will & Divine Universal Causality w/ Dr. W. Matthews Grant
Ep. #67 – Simplicity & Incarnation w/ Dr. Tim Pawl
I’d contend that, in the truest sense, God is non-contingently alone in Himself, whether or not any created things exist. In other words, even though God has created, He is as alone as if He had not created. That proposition may not be directly related to the arguments in this episode, but I think it’s important to consider so that we don’t think of creatures as more important than we are.
Hi Cherice,
Thanks for your comment. I do agree there is a sense in which God is always alone. But yes, as you pointed out, that is not exactly related to their argument as stated.