| I think free will and omniscience are only contradictory if we assume that time is linear. If it is possible for lives to branch into different timelines according to our choices, in other words, if it is possible for free will to change the future, then it is entirely possible that an omniscient being simply knows every possibility of where those choices could lead, to an infinity of possible outcomes.
Now, if it is impossible for one being, even a theoretical being, to contain an infinity of knowledge, then the two are contradictory. But if we suppose omniscience is possible, then it doesn't necessarily preclude free will; we just have to rethink how much a being would have to know to be omniscient.
"Would you like some pie, Dr. Stark?"
"Science is my pie. Curiosity, my sweet tooth.
Knowledge is my candy." |