ONTOLOGICAL

Question 1

What do ontological arguments claim to demonstrate?

Answer 1

That the statement ‘God exists’ is analytically true, meaning that it would be incoherent to doubt God exists.

Question 2

What type of argument is the ontological argument?

Answer 2

A priori. Begins from first principles and definitions.

Question 3

What was Anselm’s definition of God?

Answer 3

“a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.”

Question 4

What did Anselm argue about real existence?

Answer 4

That something that really exists is bound to be greater than something that exists in thought.

Question 5

What is the essential idea of Anselm’s argument?

Answer 5

Existence is a predicate of God. He cannot fail to exist.

Question 6

What did Gaunilo argue Anselm’s conclusion was?

Answer 6

‘Unintelligible’ as it cannot show that God necessarily exists.

Question 7

What is Gaunilo’s island argument?

Answer 7

If someone told you about the most perfect island, you could imagine that. If they told you it would be even better if it was real, you would believe them. Then ‘it must exist.’

Question 8

What does Gaunilo conclude?

Answer 8

You cannot define things into existence just because you imagine them.

Question 9

What was Anselm’s response to Gaunilo?

Answer 9

An island has contingent existence, whereas God has a necessary existence.

Question 10

How does Alvin Plantinga critique Gaunilo?

Answer 10

Argues that islands have no ‘intrinsic maximum’ that is, an island can always be made better.

Question 11

How did Descartes define his ontological argument?

Answer 11

‘God is a supremely perfect being’.

Question 12

What is Descartes triangle analogy?

Answer 12

Existence is part of the essence of God in the way that three angles adding up to 180 are part of the essence of a triangle.

Question 13

What conclusion does Descartes draw?

Answer 13

Because God has all the perfections, and existence is a perfection, God therefore exists.

Question 14

What did Kant argue?

Answer 14

That existence was not a ‘predicate’.

Question 15

How does Tillich support Anselm’s argument?

Answer 15

God does not ‘exist’ in the same way that things in the universe exist.

Question 16

What does Russell claim about Anslem?

Answer 16

Uses the word ‘exists’ incorrectly.

Question 17

What does Aquinas reject?

Answer 17

The argument because human beings are not in a position to understand God’s nature.

Question 18

What does Anselm argue in the second form of his argument?

Answer 18

God is that than which nothing greater can be thought.

Question 19

What is an analytic proposition?

Answer 19

A proposition that is true by definition.

Question 20

What is a synthetic proposition?

Answer 20

A proposition which adds something to our understanding, beyond the definition of the word.

Question 21

What does Anselm claim about the statement ‘God exists’?

Answer 21

That it is analytic - the concept of God includes the concept f existence, and without existence, the term ‘God’ would not apply.

Question 22

What does Aquinas state in criticism of Anslem?

Answer 22

That God’s existence cannot be regarded as self-evident.

Question 23

What did Aquinas question from Anslem’s argument?

Answer 23

Whether everyone would accept Anselm’s definition of God as ‘that than which nothing greater can be thought.’

Question 24

What did Aquinas state that we have to accept?

Answer 24

That God is mysterious and beyond human comprehension.

Question 25

What was Kant’s major criticism of Descartes’ argument?

Answer 25

‘Existence is not a predicate.’

Question 26

What did Kant argue about existence?

Answer 26

Not the same as a predicate, it does not tell us anything about the object that would help us to identify it in any way.

Question 27

What did Kant say in criticism of Descartes triangle analogy?

Answer 27

We can predict that a triangle has three sides, but we would have to investigate to find out whether the triangle we are picturing in our minds has been actualised.

Question 28

What statement did Russell ask us to think of? To prove what?

Answer 28

“The present king of France is bald” this statement is not true, our use of words is not enough to demonstrate that something exists.