Defining the Divine

Abstract

There is no more central concept in the philosophy of religion than the concept of God. The theist proposes and the atheist denies that this focal concept is instantiated in the actual world. And of course, as in every major philosophical dispute, an understanding and assessment of the best arguments offered by both sides requires a good grasp of precisely what is the subject of argument. Yet it is a rather remarkable feature of the extensive contemporary literature in the philosophy of religion that little attention has been given to the question of a proper definition of the divine. What exactly is meant in traditional religious discourse by those terms standardly translated as ‘God’? What is the proper source or method for articulating a philosophically adequate conception of the divine? In this essay, I want to begin to explore such issues as these. As we shall see, the definition of such a metaphysically important term as ‘God’ is no trivial matter and can itself yield philosophical insight.