Re: Banter[2]: Omnipotence

[edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com]

Poster: edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com

> > > > Tadhg;
> > > > (Ominpotence without omniscience is damn dangerous.)
>
> > > Leifr;
> > > It is also impossible, if you don't know everything, then you don't KNOW
> > > what you can't do, therefore you're not omnipotent.
>
> > Henry;
> > Omniscience is an incidental byproduct of omnipotence. If one is
> > all-powerful, then amongst one's powers is omniscience.
> >
> > It's the same kind of semantic redundancy that Father Guido Sarducci
> > pointed out in the phrase "forever and ever".
> >
> Leifr again,
>
> It's certainly off topic, but I remember from Piers Anthony's "Source of
> Magic" the Demon XANth stated that he was "Omnipotent but not
> Omniscient".  I wondered then how you can claim to be able to do
> everything if you can not claim to know everything.

It's not that the Demon XANth could not claim to know everything,
it's that he _could_, and did, claim not to know everything.  Since he
could do everything, claiming not to know everything was clearly
one of the things he could do.  Furthermore, actually refraining
from knowing everything (that is, making his claim true) was
another thing he could do.

Also, the Demon was playing a game with other Demons.  When I'm
playing, say, a chess game, I am _able_ to pick up one of my pawns
and move it clear across the board, but my opponent almost always
expresses annoyance when I do, so I generally choose not to.

-- Alfredo
 
 
Alfredo el Bufon
Elvegast, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia
edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com
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