Omnipotence, is this concept logically flawed?

Question

Can anyone express these points using logic. By definition Omnipotence means the ability to do anything, this however does not allow for limitation. So if something can't experience limitation how can it be omnipotent. I don't care if you worship hot dogs, this isn't a religious question.

I specifically said, as you can see above, Omnipotence as a concept... not as a word. I am well aware of its roots linguisticaly.

Answer 1

The question is not whether the concept of omnipotence is logically flawed, the question is if there is an omnipotent Supreme Being, how can we as limited-knowledge creatures begin to assume that we can fathom, let alone outwit, that sort of knowledge with philosophical wordplay. And yes, I'm a Christian.

Answer 2

We are not omnipotent. Our Concept of omnipotence is flawed. As Humans we make mistakes more than we would like to admit. We compound mistakes in an attempt to cover them from ourselves so that we can continue to do what we know was a mistake. Many Humans fail to de-educate and re-educate themselves to filter errors in thinking. Some are waiting for their next thought to come from something they consider authority. Some will not reflect, research, or analyze to achieve personal independence. Some have arrogance of their ignorance, their misunderstanding escapes them. Some do not consider the details, minute or otherwise of anything and allow for the possibility of errors on their part or their instruction.

For example, if a 3 year old child states that his leg hurts, he could mean his calf, ankle, or thigh. As he gets older he learns more anatomic detail and can give a better discription. His understanding is better if he has researched anatomy and medicine.

Words and logic have limittations. Defining the limits of the function of Omnipotence is an oxymoron. Knowing and understanding are different. We can know what we know, and understand what we understand, but do we understand what we know, or know what we understand. How many people do you know? How many do you understand? The same is true with concepts, other areas of endeavour or daily living. Consider the logic of the square root of 2. The square of 4 makes sense. and the square of 3 makes sense. Even after review of the reducto absurdium relating, the understanding of can eludes us.

Omnipotence is much like the Tao. If you have words to explain it, then that is not it.

3 things I know and understand: I am not Omnipotent, you are not omnipotent, I am Grateful.

Answer 3

experiencing limitation is not being potent, it is being impotent.
so, NO it is not logically flawed. you are having a mere semantic problem.
Please read wittgenstein on this.

omni potent means potency in all things. this does not include any impotency aspects whatsoever.

logic requires accepting certain premises and stating a syllogism. the word omnipotent is not a syllogism but if you converted it to one, it would not be invalid or flawed.

you must define word carefully
what is OMNI ? ( always must consider context)

what is potent in this context?
you cannot say that something is both potent and impotent.
It breaks rules of logic
in truth it may be what you say, but it is not from logic that we learn this or prove it unless we use the rules of logic, which are not always the best way to figure stuff out.

sometimes we must use intuition, not logic.

You are stating the premise that the meaning of the word is contradictory and this violates the rules of logic. A premis cannot contain contradictions.
You conclusion or deduction depends upon the definition you use. words are not propositions that lend themselves to logical analysis standing alone.

Answer 4

Yes, omnipotence is logically flawed as expressed by the following paradox.

Can God (the omnipotent being) make a rock so big that he cant move it?

If the answer is yes, then he is not omnipotent as he cannot move the rock.

And if the answer is no, then he is not omnipotent as he cannot make such a rock.

Answer 5

here is a well thought out answer by CS lewis

His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to Him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to His power. If you choose to say 'God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it,' you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words 'God can.'... It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of His creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

Answer 6

The concept is not logically flawed because the ability to do a thing and the choice not to do it are not the same thing.

Answer 7

I guess it's not logically flawed if you believe something exists with this capability. (I don't.)

For example:

If a thing can do anything
And if the thing has no limitations
The thing can do whatever it takes to experience limitations.

Answer 8

NO