
Our Fate
Essays on God and Free Will
John Martin Fischer(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 28. January 2016
Book
Hardback
254 pages
978-0-19-931129-3 (ISBN)
Description
Our Fate is a collection of John Martin Fischer's previously published articles on the relationship between God's foreknowledge and human freedom. The book contains a new introductory essay that places all of the chapters in the book into a cohesive framework. The introductory essay also provides some new views about the issues treated in the book, including a bold and original account of God's foreknowledge of free actions in a causally indeterministic world. The focus of the book is a powerful traditional argument for the incompatibility of God's foreknowledge and human freedom to do otherwise. Fischer presents this argument (in various forms) and defends it against some of the most salient criticisms, especially Ockhamism.
The incompatibilist's argument is driven by the fixity of the past, and, in particular, the fixity of God's prior beliefs about our current behavior. The author gives special attention to Ockhamism, which contends that God's prior beliefs are not "over-and-done-with" in the past, and are thus not subject to the intuitive idea of the fixity of the past. In the end, Fischer defends the argument for the incompatibility of God's foreknowledge and human freedom to do otherwise, but he further argues that this incompatibility need not entail the incompatibility of God's foreknowledge and human moral responsibility. Thus, through this collection of essays, Fischer develops a "semicompatibilist" view -- the belief that God's foreknowledge is entirely compatible with human moral responsibility, even if God's foreknowledge rules out freedom to do otherwise.
The incompatibilist's argument is driven by the fixity of the past, and, in particular, the fixity of God's prior beliefs about our current behavior. The author gives special attention to Ockhamism, which contends that God's prior beliefs are not "over-and-done-with" in the past, and are thus not subject to the intuitive idea of the fixity of the past. In the end, Fischer defends the argument for the incompatibility of God's foreknowledge and human freedom to do otherwise, but he further argues that this incompatibility need not entail the incompatibility of God's foreknowledge and human moral responsibility. Thus, through this collection of essays, Fischer develops a "semicompatibilist" view -- the belief that God's foreknowledge is entirely compatible with human moral responsibility, even if God's foreknowledge rules out freedom to do otherwise.
Reviews / Votes
Fischer's argument is interesting not only for specialists who are interested in the (in)compatibility of God's foreknowledge, the freedom to choose otherwise and moral responsibility but also for specialists who are interested in the (in)compatibility of causal determinism, the freedom to choose otherwise and moral responsibility. The reason is that the two issues have much ground in common, while there are also relevant differences, which Fischer elucidates. * Martijn Boot, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Online *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
549 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-931129-3 (9780199311293)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
John Martin Fischer is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, where he has held a University of California President's Chair (2006-10). He was President of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division (2013-4). He is Project Leader of The Immortality Project (2011-14), sponsored by The John Templeton Foundation.
Author
Distinguished Professor of PhilosophyDistinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside
Content
Acknowledgements ; 1. Introduction: God, Freedom, and Moral Responsibility ; 2. Scotism ; 3. Freedom and Actuality ; 4. Putting Molinism in its Place ; 5. Power Over the Past ; 6. Freedom, Foreknowledge, and the Fixity of the Past ; 7. Ockhamism: The Facts ; 8. Snapshot Ockhamism ; 9. Engaging with Pike: God, Freedom, and Time ; with Patrick Todd and Neal A. Tognazzini ; 10. The Truth about Freedom A Reply to Merricks ; with Patrick Todd ; 11. The Truth about Foreknowledge ; with Patrick Todd ; 12. Omniscience, Freedom, and Dependence ; with Neal A. Tognazzini

