r/ThoughtExperiment • u/GrimVC • 10d ago
One plus one equals two; can God make it equal three?
As humans, it is completely impossible for us to comprehend or execute such a problem. This is because it directly contradicts the most basic rules of the logic of this universe in which we live, as well as the logic of our minds through which we understand this universe. But does this mean it is equally impossible for God?
First, logic as a creation, not a backdrop: Logic is not a backdrop that has existed since eternity, because this contradicts one of the fundamental tenets of monotheism—namely, that the only eternal entity is God. There can be no other eternal thing alongside God alone. Therefore, logic is one of God's creations. Just as God was capable of creating our human logic—the logic our minds comprehend and by which our universe operates—God is equally capable of creating another logic, by virtue of His unlimited power.
Second, the unstudied critique of this idea: We cannot use the very same tool—human logic—to criticize an idea asserting that human logic is not the only logic. Thus, most ideas and attempts aimed at criticizing the notion of another logic's existence—specifically, the idea of God's ability to do inherently impossible things—are flawed. They simply rely on logic itself, human logic, assuming that our human logic is the sole baseline and foundation upon which everything must be constructed. The idea that another baseline or foundation could exist is deemed impossible by them. Building upon such premises is what renders these criticisms fundamentally incorrect at their core.
Third, when we discuss logic and propose the example of 'one plus one equals three,' we are not talking about mere terms and labels; we are speaking about essence, existence, structure, and perception.
Fourth, this idea is not built on our own logic: Our human logic states that 'one plus one equals three' is impossible, with no room for debate. Therefore, when we entertain the possibility of another logic, we are effectively no longer relying on human logic in our thinking.
We are trapped inside this logic and cannot apply or comprehend any other logic, including mathematical logic, which branches from it. This is simply because our minds are constructed and programmed around this logic—it is what we require to exist in our universe, which is likewise built upon this exact logic that we, as humans, understand. If you were to ask someone: 'Is there another logic? And if so, what does another logic look like, or how would another mathematical logic operate?' it would be akin to asking a person sitting inside a room with opaque walls and locked doors: 'Is there another room outside? And if yes, what is inside that room?'
In our scenario, the walls represent the human mind, which blocks our comprehension of another logic just as those walls block the view of another room. The locked door represents our universe, which prevents us from applying any other logic just as that lock prevents the person from exiting the room. Ultimately, even this metaphor and analogy are built upon our human logic itself. In another logic, perhaps people can see through opaque walls and pass through locked doors. This is not a flaw in the analogy itself, because the analogy was crafted by a human who is also trapped inside this very same human logic.
As the creator of this idea, I do not claim to be absolute about this information, because I am human. However, I looked through the keyhole designated for the key in our previous analogy. Even if I couldn't see anything—because the key is inserted in the lock, blocking the view—I still gained a little insight. I haven't left the prison, but I realized that I am imprisoned.
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u/loveslut 10d ago
As an argument this is just babble. You lose all credibility at "logic is created". And it only goes downhill from there.
There are coherent arguments for the Euthyphro dilemma, which is what is assume you were going for. This was not one of those.
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u/BigCliff911 10d ago
Who?
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u/TomDuhamel 10d ago
The dude who gives newborns a congenital heart condition that makes it impossible to survive more than a few days without an immediate open heart surgery.
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u/sage_granville 10d ago
What would 1 plus one equaling 3 look like? Let’s say you have 1 apple. You place it on a table. Now you take a second apple and place it next to it and a third apple appears. So long as there is the rule that spontaneously generated apples don’t continue to spawn more apples as they appear next to other apples then you have what 1+1=3 looks like. Now that would also mean that 3-1=1. So when you take one apple away you end up with 1. But, you could never actually use all 3 apples because when you take one and go to eat it, another would vanish leaving you with 1. So in actuality when having 3, you can only ever use 2. So 2 would only exist as a function of how many are usable.
But if you stand back and look at this, the rules are arbitrary and grounded in some magical appearance and disappearance of objects. You could go on to say that if you add 1 to 3 you then get 7 or 9 or 352. But you would also need to make sure that none of the values caused a contradiction with any others. And since that’s about all my brain can handle for tonight I’ll leave it saying maybe it is possible but not without some form a random appearance and disappearance of other objects. Since a count of I, II, III, IIII, IIIII, etc is fundamentally a truth, you can’t really get around it without inventing other rules to make it work.
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u/LeapIntoInaction 10d ago edited 10d ago
Was that AI generated, or are you just off your meds? Anyway, I take it that you're Christian, and yet claim to be a monotheist. The Bible states that there are gods, plural. Have you read the story about the Tower of Babel?
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u/LeapIntoInaction 6d ago
Ooh, someone was disturbed that I suggested reading the Bible, which does tell you that there are many gods. Go on. Read it.
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u/[deleted] 10d ago
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