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After all, if there is an infinite God, then it becomes easy to assume that he is an all-powerful God. If there is an all-powerful God, it is difficult to argue against the idea that he controls every action, which would be an argument in favor of final causation. Spinoza's challenge to the idea of final causation and even an argument against the idea of something like predestination comes down to the notion that it is impossible to give human motivations to God or nature. The problem with that argument is that it is impossible to know God's motivations. They may be so different from human motivations that humans cannot contemplate cause and effect on a divine level. However, it is also possible that God's motivations are very human. The problem with Spinoza's argument that human beings cannot define or limit God is that, in the argument, he is actually defining or limiting God. That apparent contradiction appears to be the greatest weakness in his argument.
However, if one takes all of the premises of Spinoza's argument as incontrovertible truths, his argument against final causation appears much more appealing. It certainly seems that an infinite God with no end could not possibly be planning things with the goal of establishing final causation. Furthermore, when one looks at the examples that modern people have attempted to use for final causation,...
Hurricanes, floods, drought, and other natural disasters have all been attributed to God's will because of unhappiness with some unrelated human event. For example, a famous minister suggested that the horrific flooding of New Orleans that came with hurricane Katrina was the result of God's unhappiness with homosexuality. When one sees the real-life arguments that are made in favor of a final causation explanation, Spinoza's arguments against the doctrine become much more relevant and convincing.
Doctrine of the Holy Trinity The Doctrine of the Trinity and Anti-Trinitarian Theologies: Servetus, Milton, Newton The Doctrine of the Trinity The Arian Heresy Anti-Trinitarianism Part I: Michael Servetus Anti-Trinitarianism Part II: John Milton Sir Isaac Newton The Arian heresy -- or rejection of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity -- is actually relatively uncommon among contemporary Christian denominations; to pick one particular national example, Post-Reformation England would tolerate a broad array of theological stances -- from
Rationalist Philosophers Descartes: Explain one of Descartes' arguments in Meditation VI for substance dualism. Critically discuss one possible objection to the argument. Descartes was not a nihilist or solipsist who truly doubted the existence of anything outside his own mind, and only used skepticism to arrive at clear and distinct ideas. He has already proved his own existence as a thinking being, and that God exists, along with his physical body and objects
Plato's Theory Of The Tripartite Soul The Republic is an influential dialogue by Plato, written in the first half of the 4th century BC. This Socratic dialogue mainly concerns political philosophy and ethics. The political ideas are clarified by picturing a utopia. The Republic also contains the famous allegory of the cave, with which Plato clarifies his theory of ideal forms. The Republic, which is the standard English translation of the
Philosophy Nietzsche often identified life itself with "will to power," that is, with an instinct for growth and durability. This concept provides yet another way of interpreting the ascetic ideal, since it is Nietzsche's contention "that all the supreme values of mankind lack this will -- that values which are symptomatic of decline, nihilistic values, are lording it under the holiest names" (Kaufmann 1959). Thus, traditional philosophy, religion, and morality
Liberalism as an ideology has a long and complex history in politics as well as philosophy. In essence the liberal tradition refers to a system of thought or ideology which emphasizes the concept of freedom and personal liberty as the purpose of government. This also implies the ability to desist and the right of opposition to established systems and rules and governance which may be seen to infringe on the
Politics Modern Political Thought The transition from a feudal serf economy to a capitalist market economy was one of the fundamental shifts which have produced modernity as we know it. This essay aims to understand how the authors of The Prince and Leviathan, Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes would think about the transition and how these two great minds would relate to the issue of capitalism. Capitalism is a funny game that