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Divine Action in the World of Physics: Response to Nicholas Saunders
Author(s) -
Ward Keith
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9744.00320
Subject(s) - causality (physics) , indeterminacy (philosophy) , action (physics) , physical law , epistemology , natural (archaeology) , order (exchange) , natural law , natural order , philosophy , psychology , physics , economics , law , quantum mechanics , history , political science , archaeology , finance , public law , philosophy of law
Nicholas Saunders claims that, in my view, divine action requires and is confined to indeterminacies at the quantum level. I try to make clear that, in speaking of “gaps” in physical causality, I mean that the existence of intentions entails that determining law explanations alone cannot give a complete account of the natural world. By “indeterminacy” I mean a general (not quantum) lack of determining causality in the physical order. Construing physical causality in terms of dispositional properties variously realized in more or less creative ways in different contexts may be most helpful in developing an account of divine action.