arguments based on reason - ontological Flashcards
ontological meaning
ontos (being) logos (study of)
the study of being
type of knowledge and argument used (2 things)
a priori knowledge
deductive argument
a priori
arguments based on reason
deductive argument
the conclusion follows the premise
the first and best known argument was made by
St. Anselm of Canterbury
when did St. Anselm make his ontological argument
11th century CE
the passage from the Bible that Anselms ontological argument reflects on
“fools say in their hearts “there is no God”” Psalm
what does St Anselm define God as
a being than which no greater can be conceived
Anselms premise one
God is a being “that than which no greater can be conceived”
Anselms premise two
God may exist either in the mind alone (in intellectu) or in reality (in re) as well
anselms premise three
something which exists in reality and in the mind is greater than something which exists in the mind alone
anselms premise four
god is the greatest conceivable being so he would exist both in the mind and reality. Therefore God exists.
anselm’s ‘the fool’
‘the fool’ who does not believe God exists in reality, but still has the idea of god in their mind.
anselms painter analogy
analogy of the painter:
a painter has an idea of what he is going to paint before he creates the painting - which then exists in the mind and in reality. This shows that existing in the mind and reality are different
reductio ad absurdum
‘reduction to the absurd’ in this argument we begin by assuming the opposite of the claim we want to prove and show that from this claim something absurd follows. this shows that the opposite of the claim we want to argue for is false, and that the claim we want to argue for is true.
what is a predicate
a description or attribute that tells us something about the subject
predicate example (bachelor and god exists)
a bachelor is an unmarried man
subject - bachelor
predicate - unmarried, man
“god exists”
subject - god
predicate - exists
who was guanilo
monk
title of guanilos book
“on behalf of the fool”
guanilos three ways why existence is not a predicate of god
gossip
defining things in to existence
guanilos island
guanilos gossip argument
all sorts of things in my mind do not exist in reality
if someone hears something from gossip, it is unreliable and tricks you
guanilos defining things in to existence
you cannot demonstrate the existence of something simply by having an idea about it
just because anselm described God as that than which nothing greater can be conceived, does not mean that God is this
anselm cannot define god into existence
guanilos island
imagine a perfect island, just because you imagine it does not mean it exists in reality
guanilo applying reducto ad absurdum against anselms argument
if anselms proof for the existence of a GCB was sound then we could give sound proof for the existence of a greatest conceivable island
we cannot give sound proof for the existence of a greatest conceivable island
therefore anselms proof for the existence of a greatest conceivable being is not sound
anselms reply to guanilo
god isnt a perfect thing like an island, God is THE perfect thing.
god is not contingent like an island, God has necessary existence, since it is greater to be a necessary being than a contingent one
alvin plantinga’s comment on islands
islands have no “intrinsic maximum”
kants objection
existence is not a predicate
kant: why is existence not a predicate
you would not describe something as having existence when describing them
kants view on the statement “God is omnipotent”
‘is’ is not a predicate - it does not add anything
‘omnipotent’ is a predicate - it adds a quality to god
analytic and synthetic statements
analytic statements are definitions - facts that cannot be disputed
synthetic statements need proof they are true - statements about existence are synthetic
example ‘god exists’ is a synthetic statement and needs to be verified
therefore the statement ‘god is omnipotent’ is necessary for the existence of God
descartes definition of god
God is the supremely perfect being
descartes on existence is a predicate and therefore god must exist
to be supremely perfect, something must exist
existence is part of the perfection of God which cannot lack (predicate)
therefore God must exist
descartes triangle
a triangle has three sides - truth of mathematics
this is necessary existence
just as Gods existence is necessary
russells argument against anselm
existence is not a predicate. if it was:
eg men exist
santa is a man
therefore santa exists
this is wrong therefore existence is not a predicate
