Robert Pasnau, "Why Can’t Mary Sin?"

Event details Date: Monday, August 24, 2026 Time: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Location: Comstock Hall - 2123 Type: Lecture / Workshop Department: Philosophy Contact: Jacquelyn Johnson | jj773@cornell.edu About this event Abstract: Suppose there is an all-powerful being who has decided that it is for the best that some perfectly ordinary human being should be unable to sin. But—and this is the tricky part—that ordinary human being must also be meritorious in her actions. Can someone be unable to sin and yet be morally praiseworthy? Could even an all-powerful being bring about that state of affairs? I will consider how William Ockham attempted to answer those questions in the affirmative. Reception to follow. Robert Pasnau’s research extends all across the field of philosophy, but particularly concentrates on its history, especially from the later Middle Ages into the early modern era. He is the editor of the Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy and the founding editor of Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy. His most recent book, based on his Isaiah Berlin lectures at Oxford, is After Certainty: A History of Our Epistemic Ideals and Illusions (OUP 2017). He is a past-president of the American Philosophical Association, and a fellow of the Paris Institute for Advanced Studies. Official event details: https://events.cornell.edu/event/robert-pasnau-why-cant-mary-sin