The Openness of God: Hasker on Eternity and Free Will Cover Image

The Openness of God: Hasker on Eternity and Free Will
The Openness of God: Hasker on Eternity and Free Will

Author(s): Eleonore Stump
Subject(s): Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: eternity; free will; providence; omniscience

Summary/Abstract: The understanding of God’s mode of existence as eternal makes a significant difference to a variety of issues in contemporary philosophy of religion, including, for instance, the apparent incompatibility of divine omniscience with human freedom. But the concept has come under attack in current philosophical discussion as inefficacious to solve the philosophical puzzles for which it seems so promising. Although Boethius in the early 6th century thought that the concept could resolve the apparent incompatibility between divine foreknowledge and human free will, some contemporary philosophers, such as William Hasker, have argued that whatever help the concept of eternity may give with that puzzle is more than vitiated by the religiously pernicious implications of the concept for notions of God’s providence and action in time. In this paper, I will examine and respond to Hasker’s arguments against the doctrine of God’s eternity.

  • Issue Year: 70/2022
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 91-106
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: English