Two Omnipotent Beings?

Abstract

The idea of omnipotence plays a crucial role within the framework of classical theism. God is typically considered omnipotent, that is, able to perform any action. Sometimes, it is said that for God there is no difference between will and action; everything he wishes happens. However, as one reflects on the concept of omnipotence, some rather complex questions arise; the range of God's possible Bactions^is not clear. What are the boundaries of the power of an omnipotent being, if these boundaries exist at all? In this paper, we will examine an interesting question: is it possible that two omnipotent beings exist? Or, does the property of omnipotence necessarily imply the uniqueness of its instantiation? Intuitively, the existence of more than one omnipotent being seems to be contradictory. However, we will demonstrate that under some conditions the existence of two omnipotent beings is possible.

Day Shift God, Night Shift God

“…Clearly, ‘[t]he question concerning the possibility of the existence of two omnipotent beings is crucially dependent on the adopted characterization of omnipotence’ (De Florio and Frigerio 2015: 310). Omnipotence is usually thought to be ‘the power to do anything logically possible’ (it is also sometimes defined as ‘a power exceeding that of any other possible being’, but this is clearly question-begging).…”

“…If being on the same page about a project is a metaphysical possibility, surely two omnibenevolent Gods can realize it, if anyone can. A ditheist-friendly source of inspiration would therefore be the happy marriage, where ‘what one wants is never contradicted by the other's will’ (De Florio and Frigerio 2015: 317). Since the most philosophically important decisions are made before arguments are ever crafted, focusing on the neglected attributes of omniscience and omnibenevolence might undermine monotheism's monopoly on the mainstream theological imagination.…”