Perceptual reports and the impossibility of perceiving god

Bibliographic Data

ID10344323
AuthorsTimothy Perrine (0000-0003-4562-6544, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-03-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/pq/pqaf018
OpenAlexW4408140423
LanguageEN
References cited41

Is it possible to hear God, feel God act, or see that God is doing something in the world? Of course, if God does not exist, no such reports could be true. But some philosophers have argued that even if God exists, it is not possible for such reports to be true since God is supposed to be a maximally perfect immaterial spirit. Here I explore the issue by framing discussion in terms of three kinds of perceptual reports. After clarifying the relation between them, I consider arguments that even if God exists, it is not possible for there to be true perceptual reports about God of any of the three kinds. I argue that, for the most part, these arguments fail. If God exists, it is possible to hear God, feel God act, or see that God was doing something in the world

Epistemology · Existence of God · Existential quantification · Framing (construction · Impossibility · Perception · Relation (database · Theism · Computer Science · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Theology and Philosophy of Evil

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