LessonsObligation Beyond Capacity: Possibility, Ability, and Moral JudgmentQuiz

1. Contraries at once: the proposed state is internally contradictory, hence intrinsically impossible.
2. An ordinary person independently creating a body: the kind of event is conceivable, but the person lacks the relevant capacity; the human ability condition is decisive.
3. A person’s belief when nonbelief is infallibly reported: belief is coherent in itself, yet claiming it will actually occur would conflict with the truthful report.

Thus the word “impossible” cannot bear exactly the same meaning in all three situations. A valid judgment must identify what is impossible and in what respect.

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Applying the threefold classification

Obligation Beyond Capacity: Possibility, Ability, and Moral Judgment

1. Contraries at once: the proposed state is internally contradictory, hence intrinsically impossible.
2. An ordinary person independently creating a body: the kind of event is conceivable, but the person lacks the relevant capacity; the human ability condition is decisive.
3. A person’s belief when nonbelief is infallibly reported: belief is coherent in itself, yet claiming it will actually occur would conflict with the truthful report.

Thus the word “impossible” cannot bear exactly the same meaning in all three situations. A valid judgment must identify what is impossible and in what respect.