What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to resolve the tension around God's perfect relation to human subjectivity and counteractuals.

March 7, 2026Open Access

Omnisubjectivity, counteractuals, and relating perfectly to subjectivity

Puntos clave

The aim is to resolve the tension around God's perfect relation to human subjectivity and counteractuals.
Examined the concept of omnisubjectivity as defined by Linda Zagzebski
Analyzed the implications of God's knowledge regarding actual and counteractual subjective experiences
Developed a model based on interpersonal perception and divine introspection
Identified a critical tension between knowing actual and counteractual subjectivity
Proposed a resolution via a model emphasizing perception and introspection
Demonstrated that understanding God’s relation can clarify the concept of omnisubjectivity

Resumen

Abstract The idea that God must relate perfectly to our subjectivity is central to Linda Zagzebski’s work on omnisubjectivity. There is a hitherto undiagnosed tension, however, between different criteria one might use to judge what perfectly relating to our subjectivity consists in. God’s relationship to what Zagzebski calls ‘counteractuals’, individuals that do not exist but that could have, brings this tension into focus. On the one hand, if God does not know what the subjective experiences of counteractuals would be like, then God’s omnisubjectivity would appear to be unacceptably limited in scope. On the other hand, if God knows the subjectivity of actual creatures in the same way that God knows the subjectivity of counteractual creatures, then the motivation for omnisubjectivity ends up being undercut to a significant extent. This essay resolves this tension with a model that draws on interpersonal perception and divine introspection.

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