Q&A: Does logic itself (logical relations) have a cause (that created them as they are)?
Does logic itself (logical relations) have a cause (that created them as they are)?
Question
Hello Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham,
I would appreciate it if you could point me to sources or lines of thought regarding several questions.
First question:
Does logic itself (logical relations) have a cause (that created them as they are)?
Logic is a kind of complexity, and it exists. Is it possible to ask, regarding this existing complexity, what its cause is?
Second question:
Another question: Maimonides solved the problem of free choice versus God's knowledge by saying that He and His attributes are one and the same, and just as we cannot grasp Him, so too we cannot understand His attributes. And therefore we have no ability to ask a question about God's knowledge, since we do not understand it.
Third question:
If I understood Maimonides correctly, and we cannot understand or grasp God's essence, is there any meaning to asking logical questions about the Creator?
Is assuming that the Creator is subject to the laws of logic an assumption about His very essence?
Best regards.
Answer
A. No. These are not laws in the sense that the laws of physics are laws. See my article here: https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%95%D7%98%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A1%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%AA%D7%99/
B. Was there a question there?
C. We ask about the Creator according to our understanding, and that is the Creator in whom we believe. This is a question about us and about what we believe in, not about Him. Moreover, the Creator Himself is also subject to logic according to Maimonides, and in my view as well. See the above article.