LessonsDivine Transcendence: Form, Essence, Place and TimeQuiz

The possibility of a void was disputed in classical theology and philosophy. Can empty space exist without a body? If so, is it an independently existing substance, a dimension or a conceptual relation?

These are disagreements about physical space, not conditions for establishing God’s existence. They do not license the picture of God occupying an empty region.

Illustration: Philosophers may disagree about how to describe the space left when water is removed from a vessel. That disagreement does not prove that every existent must be located inside a container-like region.

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The historical debate about empty space

Divine Transcendence: Form, Essence, Place and Time

The possibility of a void was disputed in classical theology and philosophy. Can empty space exist without a body? If so, is it an independently existing substance, a dimension or a conceptual relation?

These are disagreements about physical space, not conditions for establishing God’s existence. They do not license the picture of God occupying an empty region.

Illustration: Philosophers may disagree about how to describe the space left when water is removed from a vessel. That disagreement does not prove that every existent must be located inside a container-like region.