| Superior Beings. If They Exist, How Would We Know?: Game-Theoretic Implications of Omnipotence, Omniscience, Immortality, and Incomprehensibility 2007 Edition Contributor(s): Brams, Steven (Author) |
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ISBN: 038748065X ISBN-13: 9780387480657 Publisher: Springer OUR PRICE: $36.09 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2006 Annotation: The central question posed in this book is: If there existed a superior being who possessed the supernatural qualities of omniscience, omnipotence, immortality, and incomprehensibility, how would he/she act differently from us? The mathematical theory of games is used to define each of these qualities, and different assumptions about the rules of play in several theological games that might be played between ordinary human beings and superior beings like God are posited. Implications of these definitions and assumptions are developed and used to explore such questions as: are God's superior powers compatible with human free will? Can they be reconciled with the problem of evil in the world? In what situation is God's existence "decidable" in gamelike relationships He migh have with us? By endowing omniscience/omnipotence/immortality/incomprehensibility with unambiguous meanings, the author shows how game theory can help breathe life into questions that have been dismissed too quickly simply because they are metaphysical--outside the world of experience. Thereby he clarifies the structure of our thought about an ultimate reality, whether or not it is viewed as religious. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Life Sciences - General - Philosophy | Epistemology - Mathematics | Game Theory |
| Dewey: 300 |
| Physical Information: 0.46" H x 6.18" W x 9.3" (0.93 lbs) 202 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The same is true of applications of game theory to history, philosophy religion, and the other humanities. In particular, I know of no attempts to apply game theory to the kinds of p- losophy-of-religion and theology questions that I explored in Superior Beings, By contrast; the nexus between science and religion has been thoroughly analyzed using other methods of inquiry as evidenced by Charles L. Harper Jr (ed. ), Spiritual Information: 100 Perspectives on Science and Religion (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press, 2006), a huge collection put together in honor of Sir John Templeton's ninetieth birthday Sir John, through the Templeton Foundation, is the primary propo- nent and the major benefactor of studies in science and religion today How science and religion are (or are not) connected is, of course, an old subject. It is also a controversial one, extending at least from Galileo's trial in 1633 to the teaching of evolution today. While game theory is a mathematical theory, Superior Beings is emphatically not a scientific work, wherein a theory is tested. Rather, it is an attempt to interpret and explain important philo- sophical, religious, and theological questions in terms of the rational choices of ordinary human beings, who are assumed to play games with a superior being. The game theory I use is nonstandard. |
