tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post7635420608718662715..comments2024-03-04T05:55:35.225-05:00Comments on Vital Remnants: The Simplicity of God: Objections and ResponsesMartin Cothranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16452612266051351726noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-55833857505938318342014-09-25T19:50:29.621-04:002014-09-25T19:50:29.621-04:00Anonymous:
(I'm assuming you understand the a...Anonymous:<br /><br />(I'm assuming you understand the argument that unconditioned reality must be absolutely simple, infinite, etc., and are just asking how numbers can be conditioned by other realities. If it's unclear why numbers can't be unconditioned by the terms of the argument, I'd be happy to explain that too.)<br /><br />If you just mean that numbers are unconditioned, Thomas M. Cothranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07824873424225826685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-23308458755523567512014-09-24T06:20:54.065-04:002014-09-24T06:20:54.065-04:00I am sorry guys, but you are putting more meaning ...I am sorry guys, but you are putting more meaning into my question than I intended. <br /><br />I don't know the metaphysical "one" is, but I was meaning the number between zero and two.<br /><br />I don't think one depends on anything. I think the number one is a unconditional reality. But reading your argument this must be wrong. What am I doing wrong here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-48303446590919582562014-09-23T22:26:13.086-04:002014-09-23T22:26:13.086-04:00Anonymous (and Thomas):
Is "one" being ...Anonymous (and Thomas):<br /><br />Is "one" being used here as one of the metaphysical transcendentals (i.e., the true, the good, being, and the one--and, according to whose list you're using, the beautiful)?<br /><br />I haven't thought this through, but if it is a transcendental, then it is a universal property of being. Is a universal property of being an unconditioned Martin Cothranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16452612266051351726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-33764626341660559222014-09-23T20:18:11.595-04:002014-09-23T20:18:11.595-04:00Perhaps you're a neo-platonist: for Plotinus, ...Perhaps you're a neo-platonist: for Plotinus, the One is the God of theism--the eternal, infinite source of all that is.<br /><br />Step 1 just demonstrates that there is at least one unconditioned reality.<br /><br />Step 2 deals with what an unconditioned reality is. That argument shows that an unconditioned reality is, among other things, without boundaries or incompatible states. PlotinusThomas M. Cothranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07824873424225826685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-12140846146918685322014-09-23T16:46:09.395-04:002014-09-23T16:46:09.395-04:00OK, so if I assume that "one" is a reali...OK, so if I assume that "one" is a reality, then upon what does it depend? <br /><br />I feel that "one" is unconditioned reality. I can't see upon what it depends. <br /><br />This seems too simple to me. What am I missing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-35337944106682134202014-09-23T09:33:15.321-04:002014-09-23T09:33:15.321-04:00Anonymous,
It would depend on your metaphysics: a...Anonymous,<br /><br />It would depend on your metaphysics: a Platonist would regard "one" as a reality. A reductive materialist, arguably, would not (even with the broad definition).<br /><br />This argument doesn't take any particular metaphysical stance. It works whether you think there are such things as ideal objects or not.<br /><br />For example, if you are a classical Thomas M. Cothranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07824873424225826685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11542449.post-17305422908394075612014-09-23T07:07:36.079-04:002014-09-23T07:07:36.079-04:00I returned to step 1 and I am having trouble with ...I returned to step 1 and I am having trouble with the definition of a reality.<br /><br /><i>1.1 A conditioned reality is any reality whose existence depends in any way on some other reality. "Reality" is used very broadly here. It means not only material objects, but also physical laws, space, time--in short, anything that can be described as really existing.</i><br /><br />As I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com