Does science undermine the theistic multiverse?

I examine the claim that theistic and scientific multiverses conflict: the former require that only universes above a certain threshold of value exist, while the latter make no such stipulations. I explore several avenues of reconciliation: appealing to ceteris peribus conditions, redefining 'univer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Erkenntnis Vol. 91; no. 4; pp. 1765 - 1793
Main Author: Donahue, Miles K.
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Apr2026
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:I examine the claim that theistic and scientific multiverses conflict: the former require that only universes above a certain threshold of value exist, while the latter make no such stipulations. I explore several avenues of reconciliation: appealing to ceteris peribus conditions, redefining 'universe' in the philosophical context, advocating skeptical theism, contending that God and gratuitous evil are compatible, and adjusting the relevant scientific theories. I conclude that only the last strategy is viable, as long as we grant the coherence of a Molinist account of divine providence. If successful, it would entail that scientific and theistic models conflict only superficially. If not, however, then the theistic multiverse is inconsistent with its scientific counterparts.