1D origins of the ontological argument Flashcards
what is a deductive argument?
moving from a set of premises to a comclusion that, if the argument is sound, is indisputable
give two examples of valid deductive proof and reasoning
- all oceans contain water
- the atlantic is an ocean
conclusion. the atlantic contains water - the sun is a star
- all stars are balls of flaming gas
conclusion. the sun is a ball of flaming gas
give an example of invalid deductive proof and explain why it is invalid
- all birds can fly
- penguins are birds
conclusion. penguins can fly
whilst logically the argument is sound, the premise ‘all birds can fly’ is factually inaccurate
what is an a priori argument
an argument based relying on pure reason, prior to empirical evidence
who was st anselm
an italian monk and a theologian of the roman catholic church
what did anselm contruct and what were his intentions
the ontological argument to demonstrate rationality behind his own faith
what was the original title of anselm’s proslogian and what does it mean
fides quaerens intellectum
faith seeking understanding
what does ontos mean
being
how does anselm open proslogian 2
with reference to Psalm 14:1
‘the fool sayd in his heart, ‘there is no god’’
according to anselm what is God
‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’
what does ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’ mean
he must exist in reality as something that exists in reality is greater than in the mind
an existent being is greater than an illusionary being
the concept of god is surpassed by an existent God
he exists in both mind and reality
what example did anselm give to show how god exists in both the mind and reality
a painter and a painting
before it exists in reality, a painting needs to exist in the mind of a painter
use deductive reasoning to show that a necessary being is greater than a contingent being
contingent beings depend on something else for existence
necessary beings are not dependant
contingent beings can be thought of to not exist
necessary beings cannot be thought of to not exist
what does the fact that god is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’ mean for his existence
god’s existence is necessary
it is an integral part of what it means to be God; a unique feature above that of all existent beings
‘God cannot be conceived to not exist’
what did anselm say about some things being better not existing and what example did he use
a nine-headed, flesh-eating, giant mosquito
the best version of this is a non-existent version as it is bad or undesirable
god can never be undesirable as his goodness is an aspect of his greatness
as he is sp great, it could never be better for him to not exist
how can you challenge anselm when he says that god can never be undesirable
old testament god is very different to the new testament loving God
the problem of evil
where was anselms first form of his ontological argument written
proslogion 2
where was anselms second form of his ontological argument written
proslogion 3
outline anselms first form of his ontological argument with the presmises
- god is that than which nothing greater can be conceived
- god exists in intellectu (in the mind alone as a concept)
- if god exxisted only in intellectu we could imagine something that existsboth in re (reality) and intellectu (mind)
- that being would be greater than God
conclusion. God must exist in both re and intellectu
explain premise 1 of anselms argument in proslogion 2
he defines god
it would be rediculous to dismiss something you don’t have a clear understanding of
it is impossible for anyone to think of anything greater than God
the definition on its own is required for a denial of Gods existence
explain premise 2 of anselms argument in proslogion 2
clearly god exists in the mind because we can define him
explain premise 3 and 4 of anselms argument in poslogion 2
he uses reductio ad absurdum (reducing to absurdity)
god cannot exist in the mind alone otherwise there would be something greater than him, going against premise 1
explain anselms conclusion in proslogion 2
demonstrates inescapability
since god exists in the mind he cannot be restricted to the mind alone
gods existence is rationally proves without the use of empirical evidence
outline anselms second form of the ontological argument with the premises
- God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived
- it is greater to be necessary than contingent
- if god exists within the mind, but is not necessary, we could concieve of a being greater than him
- it is logically impossible to imagine anything greater than God
conclusion. if god exists in the mind then he must exist necessarily
explain premise 1 in proslogion 3
he defines god
it would be rediculous to dismiss something you don’t have a clear understanding of
it is impossible for anyone to think of anything greater than God
the definition on its own is required for a denial of Gods existence
explain premise 2 in proslogion 3
the definition of god requires him to exist necesarily since there can be nothing greater than him
explain premise 3 in proslogion 3
anselm resorts to reductio ad absurdi, to show the absurdity of God being temporary
explain premise 4 in proslogion 3
it is a logical impossibliity for god not to exist
explain anselms conclusion in poslogion 3
‘God exists’ is a tautology. it is like saying an existing god exists
the statement is an analytic existential proposition - a statement aboit existence that is necessarily true
