Reviewed question · Reality & Knowledge
Could a perfect being create a rock so heavy that they could not lift it?
The paradox tests whether omnipotence means doing anything, including contradictions.
This page maps defensible perspectives. It does not present one philosophical answer as settled fact.
Why it matters
A question with consequences
It reveals how definitions of power, logic, and divinity can collide.
Background
- Classical theology often treats contradictions as non-things rather than possible acts.
- The question also shows how language can manufacture puzzles.
- Modern versions ask what limits any all-powerful system could have.
Three ways into the problem
These traditions disagree about what deserves the most weight. Each card is a starting position, not a verdict.
Logical-possibility account
Omnipotence covers possible tasks. A stone that an omnipotent being cannot lift is an incoherent specification, rather than a task that greater strength could accomplish.
Associated thinkers: Thomas Aquinas, Maimonides
Unrestricted power
An unrestricted account allows power over even logical necessities. It resists treating logic as an external limit, but must explain what bringing about a contradiction could mean.
Associated thinkers: Rene Descartes, Earl Conee
Maximal-power account
Omnipotence means overall power that no possible agent exceeds. This requires a careful comparison of powers, rather than assuming every verbally describable task is possible.
Associated thinkers: Joshua Hoffman, Gary Rosenkrantz
“I think, therefore I am.”
“Death is nothing to us.”
Reflection sequence
Test your first answer
- 01Is a contradiction a thing that can be done?
- 02Does power require logical limits?
- 03Can language create false problems?
Reference desk
Sources and further reading
- 01
Continue the path
Related reviewed questions chosen for conceptual overlap.