ONTOLOGICAL Flashcards
describe features of onto argument
a priori, analytic
what does the onto argument attempt to do
use the definition of God to prove his existence in reality
who was the first proponent of the argument
anselm
what did anselm put forward as the definition of God
that than which nothing greater can be concieved
who understands this definition
both believers and non-believers
what address was anselms definition published in
proslogion
what was anselms religious stance
he was a monk and believed in God
how does anselm go from a definition to the existence of God
it is one thing to exist in the mind alone and another to exist both in the mind and in reality - it is greater to exist in the mind and in reality than to exist in the mind alone SO god must exist in both as he is the greatest possible being
what parallel does gaunilo draw in response to anselm
a lost island - if we imagine the greatest possible island, then this island must exist
phrase to summarise gaunilos position
we cannot define god into existence
how does anselm respond to gaunilo
a’s argument only applies to God - a NECESSARY being. the island is simply CONTINGENT. G is saying that God is merely the greatest actual being just as the island is the greatest actual island but A is claiming that God is the greatest possible being.
anselm and aquinas roots in greek philosophy
anselm - plato (a priori, rationalism)
aquinas - aristotle (a posteriori, empiricism)
what is aquinas criticism
we do NOT have an agreed definition of God
how does aquinas aristotelean beliefs show in his response
we can reason to god from the effects of gods action in the world - any argument has to start with experience
does aquinas treat gods existence as analytic or synthetic
synthetic - if we understood gods nature as god does then we would know that gods nature does have to include existence but as we do not know gods nature we have to treat it as synthetic
does descartes criticise or support anselm
support
explain descartes argument
- god must have existence in order to be god
- god possesses all perfections
- existence is a perfection
- existnce is a predicate (defining attribute)
what example does descartes give
mountains and valleys - they require each other to be what they are
summarise descartes argument
descartes says we can know god’s essence and therefore we can say that god must exist
who named the argument
kant
kant’s opinion on the argument
the argument made an illegitimate jump from ideas to reality
what objections did kant make to the argument
- we have no clear idea of a necessary being - God is defined largely in negative rather than in positive terms
- only sort of necessity is statements - applies to propositions not reality
- what is logically possible may not be ontologically possible - unicorns have a horn, are they real?
- existence is not a predicate or a perfection
what was russells argument
when we say ‘cows exist’ what we are really saying is the concept of a ‘cow’ is instantiated - something like unicorns are not
who does russells argument follow
frege
what is freges example
- ‘tame tigers exist’ - ‘exists’ here is not a predicate, it adds nothing to our knowledge of tigers - just says they are instantiated
- ‘tame tigers eat a lot’ - does tell us something about tame tigers and so ‘eat a lot’ functions as a predicate
