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On the possibility of special divine action in a deterministic world

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2012

LEIGH C. VICENS
LEIGH C. VICENS*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5185 Helen C. White Hall, 600 North Park Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA e-mail: vicens@wisc.edu
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Abstract

Is it possible for God both to create a deterministic world and to act specially, to realize his particular purposes within it? And if there can be such ‘particular providence’ or ‘special divine action’ (SDA) in a deterministic world, what form can it take? In this article I consider these questions, exploring a number of different models of SDA and discussing their consistency with the proposition that the world is deterministic; I also consider how the various consequences of each model accord with traditional theistic assumptions about God's action in the world. I argue that, although SDA is possible in a deterministic world, none of the models that have been offered are entirely unproblematic, but accepting any of them commits one to certain consequences that may be found objectionable; thus the potential benefits of each model of SDA must be weighed against the costs of accepting such consequences.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 315 - 336
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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