Arguments For The Existence Of God

Question 1

Ontological argument

Answer 1

A priori
Based on Anselm’s definition of God and God’s existence can be deduced from that definition
The proposition ‘God exists’ is deductive
Argument falls into two parts

Question 2

Proslogium 2

Answer 2

God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’
Quoting from Psalm 14:1 Anselm showed how even the fool can understand the concept of God
‘The fool says in his heart, there is no God’
If god exists only in the mind a greater being could be conceived that existed in reality. This would then be greater than God
Therefore God cannot only exist in mind but in both mind and reality
This showed that fool in the Psalm was indeed a fool

Question 3

Gaunilo: on behalf of the fool

Answer 3

The lost island is that than which nothing greater can be conceived
It is greater to exist in reality than only in the mind
If it exists only in the mind then a greater being can be conceived
So the lost island exists both in the mind and reality

Question 4

Proslogium 3

Answer 4

God is a necessary being as being necessary is greater than being contingent
If god only existed as a contingent being a greater could be imagined
This is ridiculous considering the definition of God

Question 5

Kant criticism: existence isn’t a predicate

Answer 5

Saying something exists does not add any further information to it

Question 6

Kant criticism: something cannot be defined into existence

Answer 6

Kant accepted that necessary existence belongs to the concept of God
But this does not mean that God actually exists
The fact that something could exist doesn’t mean it does

Question 7

Strengths of Anselms arguments

Answer 7

Deductive so if it works gives absolute proof as opposed to other arguments reliance on probability
It’s independence of evidence from human observation protects it from possibly unreliable evidence
Anselms definition is in fact claiming that god is limitless and for many, if there is a God his definition makes good sense

Question 8

Weaknesses of Anselms argument

Answer 8

Kant’s challenge suggest that it does not work in either forms
Arguments about existence need to be empirically based
Aquinas and others since have challenged Anselms definition of god. Humans cannot know the nature of god