Analyzing Aseity

Adams, Sarah; Robson, Jon

Abstract

The doctrine of divine aseity has played a significant role in the development of classical theism. However, very little attention has been paid in recent years to the question of how precisely aseity should be characterised. We argue that this neglect is unwarranted since extant characterisations of this central divine attribute quickly encounter difficulties. In particular, we present a new argument to show that the most widely accepted contemporary account of aseity is inconsistent. We then consider the prospects for developing a new account of aseity which avoids the pitfalls we have highlighted.

Citation

Adams, S., & Robson, J. (2020). Analyzing Aseity. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 50(2), 251-267. https://doi.org/10.1017/can.2019.35

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 20, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 24, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Deposit Date: Jun 25, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2021
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Philosophy
• Print ISSN: 0045-5091
• Electronic ISSN: 1911-0820
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 251-267
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/can.2019.35
• Keywords: Aseity; Divine independence; Divine attributes; Anselmian theism; Metaphysics; Religion
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2227393
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-philosophy/article/analyzing-aseity/91FD795585235676777AEC433186876E
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Canadian Journal of Philosophy on 24.10.2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1017/can.2019.35
• Contract Date: Jun 25, 2019