DOES DIVINE INTERVENTION VIOLATE LAWS OF NATURE?

• Authors: Bergmann Ralf B.
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The present paper discusses processes in our world embedded in a dense net of causes and effects. The role of laws of nature is discussed using classical mechanics as an example to demonstrate that the behaviour of objects is not determined by laws of nature on their own. Natural processes rather depend on the environment that implies forces and conditions under which these processes occur. These conditions are usually described in mathematical terms using suitable initial or boundary conditions or further constrains. This analysis may seem trivial but has an important consequence. Divine intervention appears not to violate natural laws, rather, new causes are introduced that lead to results that otherwise would not have occurred. A further consequence arises from the complexity of causal nets and the presence of probabilistic processes in our world as one may not be able to determine the causes that led to a certain effect.

Keywords

EN

CAUSATION; PROBABILISTIC PROCESSES; LAWS OF NATURE; DIVINE ACTION; MIRACLES

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2019
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 86 - 103

Contributors

author

Bergmann Ralf B.

• Faculty of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Bremen, Otto Hahn Allee NW1, 28359 Bremen, Germany

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/orgf.2019.26106