New on the site: Michi-bot. An intelligent assistant based on the writings of Rabbi Michael Avraham.

Knowledge and choice

שו”תCategory: faithKnowledge and choice
asked 1 year ago

I heard in the rabbi’s lesson about free will that the rabbi claims that God does not know because it is impossible to know something that has not yet happened, and you mentioned that perhaps God is above time and you said that it does not seem that way to you, and I did not understand why, because after all, if there is a contradiction to the things we know because of His knowledge, this justifies drawing a conclusion that He does not know. But if He is above time and we have no idea what is truly above time, how can we conclude just because it is impossible to know something that has not yet happened that He does not know?
2. Regarding the very question of knowledge and choice, I don’t really understand why this is a contradiction because if I am now at a crossroads and can choose to continue straight or to the left or to the right and I choose to go right even if God already knew it and today I cannot continue straight or to the left, this does not contradict that I am the one who chose to go right and not in another direction even if today I cannot choose otherwise from His knowledge because in the end God knows what I choose and although this greatly narrows my choice, it does not completely negate it and God’s knowledge does not necessarily contradict my choice.


Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 1 year ago
There is a series of columns on the site about knowledge and choice that you should read there, and also in the talkbacks there, there was a very lively discussion. In short, the statement that God is above time can at most be relevant to the question of how God obtains information about the future. He ‘reaches out’ forward in time and draws it in. But now that the information is with Him, the question is not about Him but about us. How can I freely choose between two options when one of them is already fixed and known? I brought up Newcomb’s paradox there, which sharpens the argument greatly. In other words, when you say that God is above time, it means that we should not attribute temporal matters to Him and speak of Him in temporal terms. But then you cannot say that He knows something “now” or at any other moment. Time and temporal attributes cannot be attributed to Him. When you say that He knows now, you have put Him within the framework of the fleet of time, and that framework has rules. This is just another way of saying that these claims are not about Him but about what we say and know about Him, and we are subject to the constraints of time and its logical framework. 2. I didn’t understand why you say it narrows the choice. You claim it doesn’t narrow it in any way. But see my above discussion of the Newcomb paradox. What you presented here is the “film theory” that originated in Rabada and was discussed in detail there by me.

Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

מ replied 1 year ago

You wrote “But then you cannot say that He knows something “now” or at any other moment.”
Naw, exactly, you cannot say ‘that God knows’ according to Maimonides. Just as you cannot say that He is wise, omnipresent, one, and all the other titles.
Therefore, if God gave this information to the prophet, then it negates free choice because ‘the information already exists’, and therefore in the laws of repentance he asks about ‘A stranger will be your seed’ ‘and this people will arise…’ Why does this not negate free choice, and not simply refer to the question of knowledge and choice.

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

It does deceive, as the Maimonides himself says. But that was not the initial question.

מ replied 1 year ago

I read the columns. I didn't really understand the argument against the opinion of the conflict (I think RS writes this too), or what you called the 'movie'.
The Nikomb paradox only proves that there is a contradiction if the information meets the behavior of the person in certain situations. What contradicts the possibility in general that God knows but I have full choice?
Thanks

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

It was explained in detail there. If God has the information, He can always play the prophet's game.

מ replied 1 year ago

I ask, since the prophet's game of contradictions that you presented only in certain situations, why is it contradictory in general? I couldn't understand. You explained modal logic and then said you disagreed and went straight to examples.

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

I'll come back again. If he has the information, can he or can't he play the prophet's game? It's not a specific situation. He can always play it with the information he has.

מ replied 1 year ago

So the contradiction is in the situation?
And if he chooses not to play? That is, God knows and doesn't tell anyone.
I'm trying to understand if there is a fundamental contradiction here. What do you see because of the prophet's game?

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

I don't understand what's unclear. I'll come back again. It doesn't matter if he decides to play or not. The fact that he can start a game like this creates a contradiction to the assumption.

מ replied 1 year ago

Sorry, but I didn't understand😬
So God ‘can’t’ play the game. Why does that mean he doesn't know?

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

He can. Why can't he?

מ replied 1 year ago

Because there is a logical contradiction in the game.
But there is no logical contradiction in that he knows.
So he can't play just as he can't break all the rules of logic.

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

He has all the information. Why can't he play? There's no reason. That's it, I've exhausted it.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button