Modal Metaphysics and the Existence of God

Abstract

In this article, I seek to assess the extent to which Theism, the claim that there is a God, can provide a true fundamental explanation for the existence of the infinite plurality of concrete and abstract possible worlds, posited by David K. Lewis and Alvin Plantinga. This assessment will be carried out within the (modified) explanatory framework of Richard Swinburne, which will lead to the conclusion that the existence of God provides a true fundamental explanation for these specific entities. And thus, given the truth of this type of explanation, we have another good abductive argument for God’s existence and grounds for affirming a weaker form of the principle of methodological naturalism in our metaphysical theorising.

Firm objects: new realist insights into the sociohistorical ontology of the business enterprise

“…NCA theory has another major weakness. Heaping atop ANTi-History’s plethora of relations and actants, yet another class of actant – NCAs – means that NCA-theoretic explanations lack what contemporary metaphysicians refer to as “quantitative ontological parsimony” (Sijuwade, 2022, p. 9). As Sijuwade (2022) explains, to be ontologically parsimonious, a theory must minimize the number of relations and entities it posits.…”

“…Heaping atop ANTi-History’s plethora of relations and actants, yet another class of actant – NCAs – means that NCA-theoretic explanations lack what contemporary metaphysicians refer to as “quantitative ontological parsimony” (Sijuwade, 2022, p. 9). As Sijuwade (2022) explains, to be ontologically parsimonious, a theory must minimize the number of relations and entities it posits. Attempting to prop up NCA theory, Hartt et al ’s (2020, p. 62) recourse to “ideas of early philosophy and mathematics where a series of moves are used in a manner similar to axioms in algebra” also fails the parsimony test.…”

“…The basic algebraic axioms are profoundly simple and easily stated. As such, they accord with parsimony in regard to providing the “simplest formulation” of mathematical laws (Sijuwade, 2022, p. 9). Given the multitude of actants and relations NCA theory postulates, the routines for applying it to historical cases are far from simple.…”