Divine Conservation, Concurrence, and Occasionalism

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-225
Author(s):  
Edward Ryan Moad ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relation ◽  
Causal Efficacy ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Natural Event ◽  
Divine Concurrence

Occasionalism is the doctrine that relegates all real causal efficacy exclusively to God. This paper will aim to elucidate in some detail the metaphysical considerations that, together with certain common medieval theological axioms, constitute the philosophical steps leading to this doctrine. First, I will explain how the doctrine of divine conservation implies that we should attribute to divine power causal immediacy in every natural event and that it rules out mere conservationism as a model of the causal relation between God and nature. This leaves concurrentism and occasionalism as the only compatible options. Then I will explain the argument that since no coherent conception of divine concurrence is possible, occasionalism emerges as the only model of the causal relation between God and nature compatible with the doctrine of divine conservation.

Ghazali's Chapter on Divine Power in the Iqtiṣād

1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Marmura
Keyword(s):  
Causal Theory ◽  
Critical Comment ◽  
Causal Efficacy ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Divine Essence ◽  
Theological Foundations ◽  
Annotated Translation

The theological foundations of Ghazali's causal theory are fully expressed in the chapter on the attribute of divine power in his al-Iqtiṣād fi al-I'tiqād (Moderation in Belief). The basic doctrine which he proclaims and argues for is that divine power, an attribute additional to the divine essence, is one and pervasive. It does not consist of a multiplicity of powers that produce a multiplicity of effects, but is a unitary direct cause of each and every created existent. In a defense of the doctrine of kasb (acquisition), Ghazali argues (a) that power in all animate creatures is created directly (i.e. without intermediaries) by God and (b) that there is created with it the object of power, normally, but erroneously regarded as its effect: the object of power is in fact directly created by God. It exists with the created power, but not by it. In his critique of the Mu'tazilite theory of the generated act he again denies that created power has any causal efficacy and denies that inanimate things have any causal efficacy. What one normally regards as the effects of inanimate causes are in reality their concomitants, directly caused by divine power.The discussion of kasb, the longest in the chapter, includes Ghazali's spirited defense of it against possible objections. The defense, however, as will be shown, is not immune against criticism. At the same time, the discussion of kasb, central as it is, has to be understood in the context of the chapter as a whole, whose intricate arguments remain integrated and unified. Hence a brief exposition of the chapter's arguments will first be given, followed by a critical comment on some aspects of Ghazali's defense of kasb. This is then followed by an annotated translation of the entire chapter, a chapter so very basic for the study of Ghazali's position on causality.

Moving beyond the “LDL hypothesis”

VASA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Werner ◽  
Ulrich Laufs
Keyword(s):  
Ldl Cholesterol ◽  
Causal Relation ◽  
Low Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Clinical Trial Data ◽  
Randomised Clinical Trial ◽  
Trial Data ◽  
Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Statin Drug

Abstract. Summary: The term “LDL hypothesis” is frequently used to describe the association of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol, LDL-C) and cardiovascular (CV) events. Recent data from genetic studies prove a causal relation between serum LDL-C and CV events. These data are in agreement with mechanistic molecular studies and epidemiology. New randomised clinical trial data show that LDL-C lowering with statins and a non-statin drug, ezetimibe, reduces CV events. We therefore believe that the “LDL-hypothesis” has been proven; the term appears to be outdated and should be replaced by “LDL causality”.

Cerebellar Infarction and Coarctation of the Aorta - causal relation or coincidence?

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Bertsche ◽  
S Syrbe ◽  
M Bernhard ◽  
C Schober ◽  
W Siekmeyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relation ◽  
Coarctation Of The Aorta ◽  
Cerebellar Infarction

The Gospels as Imperialized Sites of Memory in Late Ancient Christianity

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 291-307
Author(s):  
Jason T. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Invented Tradition ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Material Things ◽  
A Site ◽  
Ancient Christianity

This article considers the intersection of Christian and imperial memory in the physical Gospel book. Besides describing the function of gospel books in the post-Constantine Roman Empire, it examines the connection between the Roman construction and production of sites of memory that established Roman imperium in the Mediterranean and the development of the Christian Gospel codex as a site of memory within Christianity. It also explores the related issues of imperial and divine power as manifest through material things, the rhetoric of seeing and iconicity, and the invented tradition of Christian orthodoxy. The article shows that the Christian Gospels and Roman sites of memory, despite a vast difference in their intended functions and original uses, both established imperium. It maintains that the creation of the Gospels' imperial iconicity was not based on their function as texts of spiritual enlightenment in late ancient Christianity, but on the fact that the production of Gospels as material cultural objects depended on Roman cultural exemplars and ideological rhetoric.

The Contest on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:19–40) as a Reflection of a Religious-Cultural Threat

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-100
Author(s):  
Nadav Na’aman
Keyword(s):  
Persian Period ◽  
Absolute Power ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Single Author ◽  
Cultural Threat ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Story Cycle ◽  
1 Kings

Abstract The article suggests that the story of the contest on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs 18:19–40) is a complete literary unit that was written by a single author in the early Persian period and inserted into the deuteronomistic story-cycle of Elijah. The story is entirely legendary and reflects the polemic of a devotee of YHWH against the contemporaneous spread of the Phoenician cult and culture. The attachment of the story to Mount Carmel may reflect the occasion of the establishment of a Tyrian/Sidonian temple on one of the mountain’s peaks, but this hypothesis cannot be verified. The story conveys a clear religious message of the absolute power of YHWH and the worthlessness of all other gods – in particular the Phoenician God Ba‘al – and of the fallacy of the belief in his divine power.

What Gives a Diagnostic Label Value? Common Use Over Informativeness

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babak Hemmatian ◽  
Sze Yu Yu Chan ◽  
Steven A. Sloman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Causal Relation ◽  
Causal Beliefs ◽  
Diagnostic Categories ◽  
Diagnostic Labels ◽  
Diagnostic Label ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

A label’s entrenchment, its degree of use by members of a community, affects its perceived explanatory value even if the label provides no substantive information (Hemmatian & Sloman, 2018). In three experiments, we show that laypersons and mental health professionals see entrenched psychiatric and non-psychiatric diagnostic labels as better explanations than non-entrenched labels even if they are circular. Using scenarios involving experts who discuss unfamiliar diagnostic categories, we show that this preference is not due to violations of conversational norms, lack of reflectiveness or attentiveness, and the characters’ familiarity or unfamiliarity with the label. In Experiment 1, whether a label provided novel symptom information or not had no impact on lay responses, while its entrenchment enhanced ratings of explanation quality. The effect persisted in Experiment 2 for causally incoherent categories and regardless of direct provision of mechanistic information. The effect of entrenchment was partly related to induced causal beliefs about the category, even when participants were informed there is no causal relation. Most participants in both experiments did not report any effect of entrenchment and the effect was present for those who did not. In Experiment 3, mental health professionals showed the effect using diagnoses that were mere shorthands for symptoms, despite a tendency to rate all explanations as unsatisfactory. The data suggest that bringing experts’ attention to the manipulation eliminates the effect. We discuss practical implications for mental health disciplines and potential ways to mitigate the impact of entrenchment.

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