There cannot be two omnipotent beings

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 64 (1):21 - 33 (2008)
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Abstract

We argue that there is no metaphysically possible world with two or more omnipotent beings, due to the potential for conflicts of will between them. We reject the objection that omnipotent beings could exist in the same world when their wills could not conflict. We then turn to Alfred Mele and M.P. Smith’s argument that two coexisting beings could remain omnipotent even if, on some occasions, their wills cancel each other out so that neither can bring about what they intend. We argue that this argument has an absurd consequence, namely having to regard an utterly powerless being as omnipotent.

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James Baillie
University of Portland

Citations of this work

Theism and Secular Modality.Noah Gordon - 2023 - Dissertation, University of Southern California
Omnipotence.Joshua Hoffman & Gary Rosenkrantz - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
God, Über-God, and Unter-God.Noah Gordon - forthcoming - Religious Studies:1-16.
Day shift God, night shift God.Marc Champagne - 2020 - Think 19 (54):81-88.
Two Omnipotent Beings?Ciro De Florio & Aldo Frigerio - 2015 - Philosophia 43 (2):309-324.

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