Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge

This original analysis examines the three leading traditional solutions to the dilemma of divine foreknowledge and human free will—those arising from Boethius, from Ockham, and from Molina. Though all three solutions are rejected in their best-known forms, three new solutions are proposed, and Zagzebski concludes that divine foreknowledge is compatible with human freedom. The discussion includes the relation between the foreknowledge dilemma and problems about thenature of time and the causal relation; the logic of counterfactual conditionals; and the differences between divine and human knowing states. An appendix introduces a new foreknowledge dilemma that purports to show that omniscient foreknowledge conflicts with deep intuitions about temporalasymmetry, quite apart from considerations of free will. Zagzebski shows that only a narrow range of solutions can handle this new dilemma. A compelling contribution to the field, The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge will appeal to students and scholars of theistic philosophy and the philosophy of religion.

"Informed, clear, and highly illuminating discussion."—Philosophical Review, "The most balanced, thorough, and compelling treatment of the issues to date....This is an important study and will be a standard reference for years to come."—Choice, "A competent, technically detailed, and unpolemical exposition of contemporary currents of thought on this perenially engaging topic....Rewards the reader with frequent bursts of incisive commentary."—The Thomist, "A reliable, often insightful, introduction to these debates."—Times Literary Supplement, "Zagzebski is a rigorous, careful thinker. She has produced a truly stimulating book. It deserves close attention and will amply repay it."—Ethics