"Why did God not immediately disappear into nothingness, if he wished to no longer be? One must ascribe omnipotence to God, for his power was unlimited; consequently, if he had willed to no longer be, he would have exterminated himself at once; instead, the universe of multiplicity arose, a universe of struggle, which is a manifest contradiction. How does one explain this? ... God existed alone, in absolute solitude and, consequently, it is correct to maintain that he was not limited by anything external; his power was, in this sense, omnipotent, since nothing outside of him limited it. However, his power was not omnipotent regarding himself, or in other words: his power could not destroy itself; the simple unity could not cease to exist by itself. God had the freedom to be as he willed; however, he was not free from his determinate essence."
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Academics from GermanyPoets from GermanyPhilosophical pessimistsAntinatalistsPhilosophers from Germany
Original Language: English
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Filosofía De La Redención: Antología (2011), trans. Sandra Baquedano Jer, chapter I (Sobre el origen del universo), pages 54-55,
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philipp_Mainl%C3%A4nder
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Philipp Mainländer
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