Critiques

Question 1

What is Gaunilo’s main objection to Anselm’s argument?

Answer 1

Gaunilo argues that God is beyond our understanding, so God cannot be in the understanding.

Question 2

What is Aquinas’s critique of Anselm’s Ontological Argument?

Answer 2

Aquinas argues that God’s nature is beyond our understanding and people have different understandings of God.

Question 3

What is Kant’s first objection to the Ontological Argument?

Answer 3

Kant argues that a priori reasoning cannot establish existence; existence is not a predicate.

Question 4

What illustration does Kant use to argue against the idea that existence is a predicate?

Answer 4

Kant uses the example of 100 thalers, arguing that the concept does not change whether they exist in reality or not.

Question 5

What is Hume’s critique of the Ontological Argument?

Answer 5

Hume argues that necessary existence is meaningless and existence cannot be established a priori.

Question 6

What is “Hume’s fork”?

Answer 6

Hume’s fork states that a priori reasoning tells us about relations of ideas, while a posteriori reasoning tells us about matters of fact.

Question 7

According to Hume, why can’t a priori reasoning establish matters of fact like existence?

Answer 7

Because a priori reasoning is about logical truths, which are disconnected from factual truths of the universe.