Arguements For God Based On Reason Flashcards
What Is a priori
Something knowable without sense experience
What is the ontological argument
Argument for the existence of good based on his definition
Who offered an ontological argument
St anselms in his work proslogion
What was st anselms motto
“Credo un intelligam” - I believe so I understand
- we need to believe in god in order to understand him
What did anselms argue in proslogion chapter 2
- By definition god must exist
- argument lies on the logical impossibility of contradiction
What definition for god did anselm provide
“ a being which no greater can be conceived”
What example did anselm use in proslogion 2
- He used an example of a fool who knows and accepts the definition of god but does nit believe in god as there is nothing in the universe which is equivalent to the definition of god however this is a contradiction as if god was the greatest thing we could think of and he didn’t exist, he would not be the greatest thing to exist as there’s something which is greater in reality
-> therefore god must exist
Who supported this view in proslogion 2
Arabic philosopher ib sina
- ib sina said “ anyone who denies the law of non contradiction should be beat and burnt”
What did anselm argue in chapter 3 of proslogion
- concerned with the idea that it is impossible for god not to exist
- we are contingent beings who rely on other things for our existence
- god is a necessary being who must exist and doesn’t rely on anything to exist
What does anselm say I’m proslogion 3
“It is not possible for it to be thought not to be”
- it is impossible for god not to exist
Who proposed the main criticisms to anselms ontological argument
Gaunilo, a Benedictine monk and contemporary of anselm
- said that anselms arguments were an excuse use of wishful thinking as it permits almost anything into existence
What did gaunilo use to illustrate his objection
- gaunilo asked us to imagine a mythical lost island which is considered as perfect
- he argued that by definition this island must exist as it is perfect, if it did not exist it would not be considered perfect
- this allows anything that is described as perfect to exist as if it did not it would not be perfect
- gaunilo argued if parallel arguments from perfection are absurd so is the ontological argument
What was anselms repsonse to gaunilo criticisms
- anselm argued that the island is contingent, it relies on other thing such as the sea and earth for its existence and islands do not need to exist. Anselm argued that god is supremely necessary so this argument only applies to him
What did hick add to gaunilos response
- hick added that the idea of perfection in terms of an island is impossible as well as indefin
