Divine Simplicity and Freedom of the act of Creation. A dialogue between Classical Theism and Analytic Philosophical Theology

Abstract:

This article exposes and explains Alvin Plantinga’s objections against the traditional doctrine of divine simplicity, with a special focus on the objection based on the incompatibility between divine simplicity and the free character of the act of creation. The article analyses and weighs different responses to this objection coming from the Classical Theistic perspective of Thomas Aquinas: a) the impugnation of possible worlds semantics; b) the distinction between absolute and hypothetical necessity; c) the denial of God’s trans-world identity; d) the extrinsic character of God’s relational properties. A nuanced version of this last response is proposed and defended.

Key words:

Divine Simplicity; Creation; Free Will; Necessity; Contingency; Thomas Aquinas; Alvin Plantinga.