Meghan Sullivan - What are Possible Worlds?

'Possible worlds' are all the ways in which a world can be. A 'world' is a complete state of cosmic affairs: all the infinite variations of innumerable parts and their myriad relationships. Possible worlds have become an indispensable philosophical technique for exploring modalities-issues of possibility and necessity that are essential for examining God.
Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls: shorturl.at/OnyRq
Free access to Closer to Truth's library of 5,000 videos: bit.ly/376lkKN
Watch more interviews on philosophy of religion: bit.ly/3guJSlt
Meghan Sullivan is a Professor of Philosophy and the Rev. John A. O’Brien Collegiate Chair at Notre Dame.
Register for free at CTT.com for subscriber-only exclusives: bit.ly/2GXmFsP
Closer to Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#theology #philosophy

[@patientson]

Without kindness and patience, there is no way you can withstand the ability to focus on a question let alone give an answer. It is ashame to know and see that those that count themselves as literate know nothing about themselves.

[@User-kjxklyntrw]

What are possibility worlds for program after undocking from brain

[@catherinemira75]

So well and concisely explained. A great video.

[@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913]

Discussions like this one which mention the problem of evil rarely address the 300 pound gorilla in the room that is the question of perspective. We can hardly imagine anything more evil than the extinction of the human race, but from the perspective of a whale or wolf in may well be the best thing that could ever happen. Even if we don’t count nonhuman perspectives, even human perspectives differ radically. For example, the Vikings imagined heaven as a place where they battled all day and then at night healed from their wounds-very different from the Christian concept of heaven. What seems obvious to me is that what is “objectively” good or evil can only be determined by God’s perspective-a perspective that could not be more different from that of a finite human being.

[@afeather123]

I agree that we don't talk enough about perspective. I think this was a point Nietzsche was trying to make about morality generally. You can't make a perfect world by creating and strictly enforcing rules, because who will it be perfect for? What is the value of a moral society if we are all miserably slaving away for each others "benefit," but no one is subjectively enjoying life? Absolutist morality prevents people from really looking inward and asking what would be good for them. I am not Christian, I do not believe in an omnipotent or all knowing God. But I do believe in a "creative principle" of reality which is essentially good, which is "finding a home" for all natures, while creating new ones (natures being souls, different living things with different perspectives). I don't believe there is anything which is outside of "change" (change being different from but related to time) which means there is no "birds eye view" from which an omnipotent creator could look down and survey possibility, because even from that perspective the landscape would be changing. To me, the nature of evil and suffering is that reality is accumulating wisdom, and there was no other process by which it could be gained, other than the one which gave rise to our experience, including our experiences of suffering.

[@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913]

@@afeather123 Yes, Nietzsche was one of the first to fully articulate “perspectivalism” as a philosophical position. By claiming that there is no “bird’s eye view” you are not only denying God’s existence, but also the existence of objective reality itself (see my video “Why I stopped believing in objective reality” kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKiXdGWhjdxgZtE ). This is because the concept of objective reality implies a “true for everybody”, god’s eye perspective upon the universe. In any case, I pretty much agree with everything you said in your comment, although I personally would identify what you call the creative principle with God. I also feel like the accumulation of wisdom or something similar could be the solution to the problem of evil.

[@JONSEY101]

I'm still amazed that in this day and age, with the understanding that we do, people still believe in this fairytale that they call god! People are so indoctrinated by that stuff and don't see how they are manipulated into believing in it. They don't want to see that tough because they want to believe they are in control of themselves and their own thoughts, not realising how others can influence and manipulate you. It's as if they would see that as a weakness. It can also be a case of realising that you have been wrong for so long which some people can't deal with, the pain can be quite hard to cope with for some and they idea they have been lied to.

[@xenphoton5833]

Being wrong and being lied to can be two different things. In other words someone can be wrong but not be lied to and vice versa. But anyway to what "understanding" are you referring?

[@tonyatkinson2210]

@@xenphoton5833 The “understanding” that we have is that three universe is nothing like the religious texts say it’s like . Take Christianity : We have learned that the earth isn’t 6000 years old , that humans evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago , that a global flood didn’t occur , that disease is caused by germs and isnt punishment , that epilepsy isn’t demonic possession, that miracles dont occur , that the universe formed billions of years ago , that language evolved and wasn’t given by a god , that .... I could go on

[@fred_2021]

@@tonyatkinson2210 Old mythologies are dispelled as the sum of human knowledge grows; but has that knowledge of the physical universe, ultimately, made existence itself more explicable? There are answers to be found only within; and yet, dimly seen, they remain a profoundly beautiful mystery.

[@tonyatkinson2210]

@@fred_2021 I have no idea what “the answers are found within” even means . Sounds like a deepity to me

[@fred_2021]

​@@tonyatkinson2210 Yes, it's a jaded cliche. Put another way - with regard to the topic - contemplation/contemplative meditation can clarify one's insight into related abstract concepts.

[@thedudegrowsfood284]

I prefer my Metaphysics with a side order of humor. Mark Twain meets Monty Python is what I'm into.

[@S3RAVA3LM]

+1 Metaphysics.

[@jeffamos9854]

- 1 Metaphysics’s

[@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913]

Treating metaphysical questions like a joke is a favorite pastime for those who fail to understand them.

[@realcygnus]

@@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913 Yup, partially why an obviously flawed narrative is still preferred by mainstream academia even.

[@MrSanford65]

I think they modality of God is it make sure every living thing dies eventually so that the struggle between good and evil will always be temporary in each life, always ending equally. Because the world is a conglomerate of individual experiences, and not a collective Subjective phenomena

[@Erik0914]

God is love. God is the creator. God is good. What is good if there is not evil. God could create only that which is good however would that really be a creation from a person (God) who already is all good. God provides freedom of will so his creation (people) can choose good or evil. If they chose good, God is pleased. If they choose evil and then choose good, he is more pleased, and his love is made greater and is extended. If they remain evil, he can still love them even though they reject him. He honors their choice of turning their back on his love and whatever consequences that may entail.

[@tonyatkinson2210]

And yet simply not being convinced he exists is considered a sin that requires an eternal punishment.

[@mikebell4649]

Lovely assertions ! Now insert fairies where god is and u can realize how atheists find ure assertions! Show evidence of a god then we can talk!

[@thomasridley8675]

Jesus loves you if you submit too the rule of his sales staff. I did not come too bring peace, but a sword to divide the people. I will be your only god until money is created. You will lie, cheat, steal and kill in my name and think it's what a just god would allow. I will let the humans turn against each other in their attempt too make me theirs. I will let people who you think speak for me call for hate and violence. I prefer an honest atheist too a self promoting self-righteous hypocrite.

[@xenphoton5833]

@@mikebell4649 would you like evidence for the possibility of God and existence outside of this realm of perception?

[@tonyatkinson2210]

@@xenphoton5833 more than anything . So far - nothing even remotely persuasive

[@ronhudson3730]

A video like this elicits so many weird responses, often from the usual suspects. They don’t impress me much. What does, is this obviously very well-educated woman who understands both science and believes in God. That does - impress me much - a whole lot.

[@nobodynobody4389]

@@cosminvisan520 riiiight

[@kos-mos1127]

She is not that impressive she take Aristotle's view as a priori when there are other philosophers such as Kant and Jung who argue against his view.

[@xepic665]

well educated person believes in nonsense shocked pikachu face

[@jeffamos9854]

@@cosminvisan520 I dream sexy dreams. I need a girlfriend

[@nobodynobody4389]

@@cosminvisan520 i highly doubt that

[@garywalls5181]

All things are possible for he who believes.

[@luisferNoMyths]

How can someone study the properties of a god if, by definition, a god is untestable?

[@xenphoton5833]

By simple observation

[@luisferNoMyths]

@@xenphoton5833 Observation of what, the god? What properties of a god can be deduced through observation?

[@fred_2021]

One cannot measure a thought, nor weigh an emotion, yet are these not fundamental realities to sentient beings?

[@luisferNoMyths]

@@fred_2021Well, I don't think that's actually true. Modern medicine can scan the brain and correlate specific brain activity with certain thoughts and feelings. I mean, we cannot see thoughts directly but we can observe their effects and how they are processed in the brains. Can we say the same about "God properties"?

[@fred_2021]

@@luisferNoMyths I understand that point of view, and it's legitimate within the confines of physical science. However, 'cause' doesn't necessarily negate the 'real' status of an emergent effect, unless you subscribe to the philosophical notion that anything unmeasurable is unreal. Perhaps you should rephrase your question as: "Can I say the same about "God properties"? - since only you could properly answer that to your satisfaction, according to your own concepts.

[@mickeybrumfield764]

Could it be that God is okay with humans asking too much of God or would this displease God.

[@xenphoton5833]

God would probably rather not be entertained with trivial prayer. Such as that of the outcome of a sporting event or anything of the like.

[@cookieDaXapper]

......many things ARE possible, but only that which is observed, however flawed/mislabeled is actual. The human mind is capable of so much, even questioning its own reasoning capacity to the level of pointlessness. We label everything then refine and relabel, argue about the appropriateness of the relabeling, and NEVER move the bar; these are centuries old conversations with NO resolution, some bizarre "trick" of contemplation. God's only limitations occur when having to interact with this reality, it can only go one way. PEACE Family.

[@hvglaser]

Making sense of god seems to necessitate the surrender of either god or sense.

[@ChuckBrowntheClown]

God creating us with freewill, shows his power, and how he doesn't doubt. It also shows his love towards us, that he let's us choose. Evil is away from God, and he allows it to be away from him, which shows his love toward us, and his power, that he can and will put and keep evil away.

[@redx11x]

Is Evil the absence of Godliness? Thus free will, by its nature, neccesitates the ability to do evil (and good).

[@ChuckBrowntheClown]

@@redx11x yep. Capable of both. That is why the Bible says, that it is by grace we are saved through faith, belief and trust, and not of works, lest any man should boast. The Bible also says the wage of sin is death. Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

[@ChuckBrowntheClown]

@@redx11x Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11 KJV

[@gabrielteo3636]

Why are you trying to get the concepts to work for God? Why not reason to the best concepts and see what sort of God pops out? It is sorta like fitting data to what you think instead of seeing what the data shows. It sounds a lot like confirmation bias.

[@thejackdiamondart]

So.What iif God were the conscious energy of everything , think quantum field.;it creates elements, atoms, and so on. God simply, if one can use that word here, simply started the ball rolling, so to speak. One and one became two and that became math when we figured it out.

[@ashercaplan3254]

Kuhn desperately needs to interview a modal antirealist. Where are all the philosophers who argue that talk of possible worlds doesn't commit one to anything like a possible world or a possible property?

[@jamenta2]

Which God? Which Science? I'd rather stick to what we can ascertain while we are here, usually via the methodology of science and intellectual reasoning. Though I do respect the right for other souls living on this sad earth of ours, to believe in something greater than a Skeptic's nihilistic version of reality, i.e. believing essentially in a mechanical and random Universe, that doesn't give a hoot about individual life - which is a happy accident of evolution and no more. Why I will defend the right of people believing what they will, given there are still unanswered ontological questions regarding the nature of our existence and consciousness.

[@xenphoton5833]

Would you like evidence that the nature of existence may exceed the parameters of general perceived reality?

[@hello-cn5nh]

@@cosminvisan520 the god of spam comment posting maybe

[@jamenta2]

@@xenphoton5833 Not everything need be observed directly. We know black holes exist but no one has observed one from the inside or know what a Black Hole contains (if anything). We can deduce things by indirect inference and reasoning.

[@hemant05]

God is Absolute Infinity, really sad to see such a narrow discussion on God.

[@hemant05]

@@cosminvisan520 he was in my mind while I was writing above comment :)

[@kos-mos1127]

Absolute Infinity is not real.

[@kos-mos1127]

@@cosminvisan520 This explains why you believe such nonsense. Leo Gura is narcissistic cult leader who regurgitates old new age ideas and makes it seem like he came up with them. No one can know reality even science does not make this claim. Anyone claiming to have secret knowledge of reality is lying. This New Age concept of God, Love and Consciousness is nothing more than an outright abuse of the English language.

[@Lalakis]

@@cosminvisan520 I think you would have a problem hiring Leo as this would mean he should stop masturbating on work

[@Azupiru]

Or... all possible worlds exist necessarily, and god necessarily does not exist. Theology is asking a lot of reason, specifically for its complete suspension.

[@thomasridley8675]

Every god needs an advanced level of special pleading too exist at all. All god beliefs are false except, very conveniently, the one I follow.🙄

[@chrisgriffiths2533]

If You go Further than Accept there is a God. Then in Human Terms If You say, Is God a Super God ?. Plus You do this in Order to Help Understand, How Could God Create All ?. Then Humanities Struggle with Evil can be a God Lesson Humanity has to Learn. Hence the Concept of Super God Encourages Us to Not Underestimate God Powers. If God Created Life, then God more than Likely Knows the Journey of Life.

[@gustavovillatoro7970]

Probability is another word for philosophy. Scientist use it a lot.

[@ljuhan2]

Lol. No.

[@gustavovillatoro7970]

@@ljuhan2 we asume” also.

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

Does energy make things possible?

[@oliviamaynard9372]

No

[@jeffamos9854]

Yes

[@videosbymathew]

Does possibility make energy? I like to think of it that way.

[@xenphoton5833]

No but the manifestation and utilization of energy can

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

Might evil be incompletion? Things are good but not complete? God is complete, while created things are good and evil? God is about completion, more than good and evil?

[@adelinrapcore]

I am sorry but her way of seeing things is childish and convenable..

[@Lalakis]

I ve heard before and I was dissappointed that Robert decided to interview her. Even her childish approach of the problem of evil and free will is so deficient that she does not take into account natural disasters, congenital defects, diseases etc evil and suffering that is completely irrelevant to someones' free will.

[@JesseRedmanBand]

I don't think God is constrained by his own rules. God created this universe with free choice and good and evil with a purpose. He could have just as easily created a universe with free will but put limits on the free will that prevented evil. It's all about the purpose God wants to achieve. With just a minor change in human nature, this existence could be a complete hell or a complete paradise.

[@JesseRedmanBand]

@@lvr8429 Norhing extra ordinary, if you are a believer. Many have gone to extra lengths to disprove the God of the Bible. Those that have gone the deepest, reading the scripture at depth, often are converted. God seeks out everyone. You just need to be open to the ovitaures. I hope everyone finds their way to God.

[@dogsbollox4335]

Jessie I see critical thinking isn't one of your strong points but remember don't worry it's not your fault👍

[@JesseRedmanBand]

@@dogsbollox4335 Who are you to judge my critical thinking. I never took a shot at your abilities. That's where the argument goes when you have no argument.

[@JesseRedmanBand]

@@cosminvisan520 Good luck with that one!

[@kos-mos1127]

@@JesseRedmanBand Many people believers have argued for the existence of God and became atheist.

[@osip7315]

philosophy tin cans banging i listen for an organ tone i can listen for along time

[@chilluminati1292]

The Bible says God creates both good AND evil.

[@tonyatkinson2210]

Why should I care what a Bronze Age myth says

[@OfficialGOD]

Bs, time to grow up

[@lindav1189]

@UC1tC-vVkvhwTa4SmFQdJ-SA don't know why unbelievers get so angry if we believe! We don't nag them for not believing.

[@mayukhpurkayastha2649]

Hindu ved book says source creates evil energy and All energys real source or ultimate nature ✝️✝️✝️ only nondual Being 🕉️

[@chilluminati1292]

@@cosminvisan520 Are ya? Why don't you leave your body and come back to it tomorrow? Can you make your body fly to the sky? Lol you are no God buddy.

[@bobcabot]

maybe your god is not that guy you think he is maybe he is the other one in disguise...

[@jacobchateau6191]

Schrödinger's Daimones

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

Does God necessarily make things possible, or is God possibly made necessary?

[@25lighters91]

Why are we afraid to say, Our Creator is Evil. No way around it.

[@suatustel746]

And somehow deluded us that the Devil perfunctory unto our existence

[@25lighters91]

@@suatustel746 No one even questions WHY put your number 1 creation with your number 1 enemy within the same place.

[@suatustel746]

@@25lighters91 he might himself be a malignant spirit, and disguises as a law giver, benevolent, magnaminious sublime almighty, otherwise he would be worshipped and preyed

[@suatustel746]

@@cosminvisan520 what's wrong with that we follow the suit!!!!!

[@S3RAVA3LM]

God cannot be evil. Evil is like a shadow, it's a void or lack of light. Nothing evil can produce, evil is like a fire, it must consume so to exist. God consumes nothing, needs nothing, God gives and gives. The Sun needs nothing from us, and gives us everything. God cannot be evil.

[@ujjwalbhattarai8670]

light/photon is not fast. our eyes see with infinity The light/photon is 299,792,458 m/s. In 2 minutes light/photon traveling 599,584,916m 1,798,754,748 meters in 3 seconds of light/photon.... In this way it reached the Earth from the Sun by traveling in 8 minutes 20 seconds. Light/photons from stars take millions of years to reach the earth. If the light/photons is fast then our eyes should see some distance in a second. Our eyes see faster than anything. Our eyes see the Sun and Moon stars at infinite speed and at the same time constantly. Whereas light/photons take different time to travel from their sources.

[@jakesmith6337]

Not true, you see distant stars immediately only because the light emitted a long time ago is now reaching your eyes

[@ujjwalbhattarai8670]

@@jakesmith6337 light/photons emitted long time ago. Light/photons has taken long time to arrived here. Before our birth light/photons are here. Light/photons has taken long time to arrived here. We are seeing it imminently from the time of our birth. The light/photons emitted by stars at the same time of our birth will arrived after our death. Light/photons which are ready hera has nothing to do to say fast or slow.

[@xenphoton5833]

@@ujjwalbhattarai8670 everything you see is in the past. If you hold your hand in front of your face, you're seeing your hand in the past. That would be the amount of time it takes the light to reflect off of your hand lensed through your eyes and absorbed by cones and relayed to your perception. This action takes time. This passage of time places the image of your hand in the past. A very recent past, Something roughly in the order of 1/5000000000 of a second in the past. As is with all objects/events that you "see".

[@xenphoton5833]

@@jakesmith6337 👆 just to reiterate and expand a little bit on what you said.

[@ujjwalbhattarai8670]

@@xenphoton5833 It takes 8 minutes or 800 years for light/photons to reach here, it is not our problem but the problem of light/photons. When the light/photons reaches us, we can see the sun, the stars... What we see, whether the sun of the past, present, or future, also has nothing to do with it, so to say, fast or slow, While reaching the light emitted by the star, We see a distant beginning. The stars we see in the present day have already died. It has nothing to do with saying fast. Light/photons takes time to travel, while it does arrive, we can currently see already post-death stars faster than light/photons travels. We are seeing stars which is already death, the stars we are seeing are not there now, It's not our problem, but it's the light/photon problem.

[@treasurepoem]

The bible is clear in that we have no free will. God is a mystery that humans will never understand or know about. Abstractness like truth, numbers, love, evil, words (John 1, below) are most likely part of God's being. God is sovereign and without Him there's nothing (Revelation 1:8, below) including numbers. 4:13 Evil isn't a problem but a necessary thing in order to help teach us through actual experience the difference between it and good. God doesn't make mistakes and HE created evil and everything else! Her opinions or understanding don't match what the bible says about God. God created the universe and us so that He could have, in the end, holy sons and daughters. Isaiah 45:7 King James Version 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. God doesn't make mistakes like in the situation of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit for it was God who created the tree and who put it *right in the middle* of the garden and made it desirable and without a cherubim or a flaming sword turning every way to guard it. He also let the Devil into the garden to tempt Adam and Eve. Even the Devil obeys God: Job 2:6 King James Version 6 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. God is sovereign and we have no free will: Isaiah 46:10 King James Version 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: --------- John 1 King James Version 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --------- Revelation 1:8 King James Version 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.