Answering a question on Quora
Sometimes, the answers on Quora are so bad, you have to add your own answer, even if the question is so elementary that any diction should give an adequate answer, because people who post questions tend to be most influenced by the first answers they read.
What does it mean to be "omniscient"?
Omniscient combines the prefix omni-, “all,” with the Latin root word scientia, “knowledge.” To be omniscient is to know all knowable information. For a more complete definition, watch the opening of the video below, titled, “Omniscience Paradox Debunked.”
Contrary to some objections, a Being with omniscience does not take away free will. Suppose you see someone whose face has lost its color, their eyes have become glassy and unfocused, and their body has started wobbling; and he says, “I’m going to faint.” You now have good reason to believe (“know”) that he’s going to faint. Has your knowledge taken away his choice to either continue standing or to lie down before he loses consciousness? Of course not. Similarly, an omniscient Being’s knowledge of what we decide to do or believe does not limit the freedom of our wills.
It could be argued that, if you knew the consequences of every option you do or do not choose, there would be no meaning to anything. This argument assumes that meaning comes from ignorance of future success or failure. Human motivation peaks when the ratio of success to failure calculates at around 2/3 — significantly higher for some, significantly lower for others. Motivation fades if one either succeeds too often or fails too often. But it is presumptuous to project a human tendency onto a Being who has attributes of perfection such as omniscience. Such a Being could derive meaning from other factors such as demonstrating justice, love, and an unimaginably intricated level of planning.
Some see a paradox in knowing even one’s future choices. If you already knew in the past what you were going to choose now, then you aren’t making a choice now. But this merely shows the falsehood of the assumption that you will make choices in the future. Any choices would already have been made through the same mechanism that endowed omniscience. Imagine the gears of a mechanical watch. The gears firmly enmesh so that all move together. Similarly, choices and knowledge could enmesh so that, if one exists, so does the other.
Further reading (or listening):
- What does it mean that God is omniscient?
- What Determines the Future?
- Doctrine of God (Part 13): Systematic Study of God’s Omniscience | Reasonable Faith
- God's Omniscience and Man's Free-will (William Lane Craig)
- Omniscience Paradox Debunked
- You might want to read answers to questions already on Quora, “What is omniscience?” and “Does an omniscient being know it's omniscient?”
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