Wouldn't god be able to manipulate and break the laws of physics?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the philosophical implications of a deity's relationship with the laws of physics. Participants explore whether a god, assumed to have created these laws, would have the ability to manipulate or break them, and what that means for the existence of god in relation to physical laws.

Discussion Character

  • Philosophical inquiry
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that if god created the laws of physics, then god should be able to manipulate or break them.
  • Another participant challenges the assumption that creation implies control, using analogies to illustrate that creators may not have absolute power over their creations.
  • Some participants argue that the laws of physics cannot prove or disprove the existence of god, as these laws may not apply to a deity.
  • A participant introduces the idea that if an all-powerful being exists, the laws of physics may not necessarily apply to it.
  • There is a suggestion that the laws of physics could be inescapable consequences of existence, which would limit a god's ability to create a universe without constraints.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether a god can manipulate the laws of physics and whether these laws can be used to argue for or against the existence of a deity. No consensus is reached on these points.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the nature of god and the interpretation of the laws of physics remain unresolved, and the discussion includes speculative reasoning about the implications of these assumptions.

time traveller d
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
since god created all of existence includeing the very laws of physics that govern our universe then, couldn't god be able to manipulate and break the laws of physics that he created? also, wouldn't that mean that the laws of physics can not prove nor disprove god's existence? sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. this just sounded more like a philosophy question than a physics question.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
time traveller d said:
since god created all of existence includeing the very laws of physics that govern our universe
That's news to me. Certainly we can't take this statement for granted, but perhaps we can proceed on the provisional assumption that this is the case-- e.g. "assuming the universe was created by some god, what could we say about..." You should give us some idea of what you mean by "god" and explicate any properties this god might have that would be relevant to this discussion.

time traveller d said:
then, couldn't god be able to manipulate and break the laws of physics that he created?
Not necessarily. Your argument seems to rest on the truth of the conditional, "If A creates B, then A can manipulate B in whatever way A wishes." But this conditional is false. For instance, if I create a robot out of a cheesy science fiction movie, it does not follow that I will be able to do whatever I wish with this robot (perhaps I might try to reprogram it, but perhaps it would forcibly prevent me from doing that). Or, if I create a child with a woman, it certainly doesn't follow that we can manipulate that child to be whatever way we wish it to be.

time traveller d said:
also, wouldn't that mean that the laws of physics can not prove nor disprove god's existence?
The laws of physics cannot prove or disprove anything. Perhaps you meant to say that we cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god using only constraints presented to us by the laws of physics?
 
I follow this same line of reasoning. If there is an all-powerful being, I tend to believe the laws of physics don't necessarily have to apply to it.
 
hypnagogue said:
Perhaps you meant to say that we cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god using only constraints presented to us by the laws of physics?
i was trying to ask is since god created the laws of physics shouldn't he be able to manipulate and breaks the very laws of physics he made? i would think he would be able to. also, since he created the laws of physics and can manipulate and break these law's i would think that the laws of physics can not prove nor disprove his existence since these laws would not apply to him.
 
I would say its something like this forum. It was created and run by someone who can delete it if he wants. He can also set the rules, change them if he wants, and break them if he so pleases. The lovely mods :!) :!) :!) are like the actual laws. They never fail! :wink: but can be terminated at any moment :devil:
 
time traveller d said:
i was trying to ask is since god created the laws of physics shouldn't he be able to manipulate and breaks the very laws of physics he made? i would think he would be able to. also, since he created the laws of physics and can manipulate and break these law's i would think that the laws of physics can not prove nor disprove his existence since these laws would not apply to him.
All you've done is to restate your original post, without addressing any of the questions and comments that were presented. Saying "I would think X is true" without any deeper elaboration is perhaps a nice way of sharing one's opinion, but it does not make for good philosophical discussion.
 
What about the "laws of logic"? would a god be able to make a self-contradictory universe?

The reason I mention this is that there is the possibility that part of the "laws of physics" (and maybe even all of them) turn out to be inescapable consequences of the fact that something exists. Were that the case, the ability of such god to choose how to create a universe would be significantly constrained.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
16
Views
6K
  • · Replies 56 ·
2
Replies
56
Views
7K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
5K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K