Ontological Flashcards
“Ontos”
“being” in Greek
What two types of argument is the ontological argument?
a priori
deductive
What does the ontological argument rely on, rather than sense experience?
logic
who argued that God does not ‘exist’ in the same way that humans do? and why?
Tillich
God’s existence is different from other kinds of existence.
Analytic propositions
true by definition. E.g. bachelors are unmarried men.
Synthetic propositions
add something to our understanding beyond the definition of the word, and we need more than just deduction to know whether it is true or not, we also need experience. E.g. ‘the corner shop sells newspapers’.
What two types of statement did Anselm argue ‘God exists is’ and why?
analytic
a priori
The concept of existence is part of the concept of God, he argued.
Who was St Anselm?
Archbishop of Canterbury
Benedictine monk
From what perspective did St Anselm produce the Ontological argument?
perspective of “faith seeking understanding” rather than attempting to convert unbelievers
Where did Anselm set out his argument?
Proslogion
How many different forms are there for Anselm’s argument?
Two forms
What is the basic argument for Anselm’s first form?
God is that than which nothing greater can be thought.
A real, existent being would be greater than an imaginary, illusory being.
Therefore, the concept of God is surpassed by an actual existent God.
What type of greatness is Anselm referring to when he says “You, Lord, are that than which nothing greater can be thought”?
perfection, not spatial greatness
What does Anselm assume that existence is?
A perfection
Why is Anselm’s statement an analytic proposition?
If God has all perfections, and existence is a perfection, then existence has to be part of that definition. From that definition of God, we can deduce God’s existence.
What two things do you have to accept to agree with Anselm?
Accept his definition of God
Believe that existence is a perfection
What does de dicto mean?
of the word
What does de re mean?
aseity
Who does Anselm agree with when he says that God is an innate idea in our minds?
Plato
Who does Anselm quote from the Psalms and what does he say?
quotes the fool from the Psalms “The fool that says in his heart that there is no God” (the atheist)
What is Anselm’s second from?
God is that than which nothing greater can be thought.
Contingent beings (those which depend on others for existence) are inferior to beings with necessary existence.
Because God is unsurpassable in every way, God must have necessary existence.
Therefore, God exists – necessarily.
What does Anselm essentially argue in his second form?
that God must exist, because a necessary being cannot fail to exist- only contingent beings do that. Necessary existence is part of the whole definition of God. It made no sense to Anselm to talk of a God who does not exist, because then he would not be God.
What does Anselm suggest we can work his argument out from?
The definition of God
Who was Gaunillo?
A french monk
Where did Anselm quote Gaunillo?
In his Proslogian
Who does Guanillo write his essay on behalf of?
The fool
What does Gaunillo suggest about Anselm’s Ontological reasoning
Its absurd
What analogy does Gaunillo draw on?
Analogy of the island
Explain the analogy of the island
Where is the most perfect island? You cannot argue concepts from your head into existence.
What does Anselm say in response to Gaunillo’s island argument?
Anselm agrees in the case of an island or anything in the universe. It is only an island because it is a contingent reality. God is different because God is necessary.
Why does Ontological reasoning only apply to God
Ontological reasoning only applies to God because God is not an item in the Universe. When referring to existence he uses the term ‘aseity’. God is self-generating. The twin possibility of God coming into existing nd ceasing to exist is impossible, God just is.
What did Anselm question?
Anselm’s definition of God
Aquinas believed that although we can approach an understanding and awareness of God, God will always remain unknowable to the finite human mind. He also raised doubts about whether this concept, even if universally shared, could indicate that such a being existed in reality.
What did Aquinas argue?
there has to be more than a definition in order to show the existence of God.
What does Descartes argue?
Descartes says that existence is a predicate, and a subject can have or lack it. Existence is like, for example in the existence of Triangularity, logically necessary properties such as 3 sides and angles. God is supremely perfect. Therefore, out of logical necessity a supremely perfect being must have the logically necessary property of perfection. A de dicto property must be existence. Therefore, one can deduce God’s existence from God’s definition.
Use triangularity to explain Descartes’ argument
Descartes explains his argument using Triangularity. The logically necessary predicates (de dicto) are three angles, three sides. If it is drawn in black ink it is a contingent property. Existence is to a supremely perfect being what having three angles is to a triangle.
What is the fundamental difference between triangularity and God?
you cannot deduce from the definition of a triangle that a triangle exists because existence isn’t a defining property of Triangularity. You have to educe that God exists because existence is a de dicto property of a supremely perfect being. This only works if you accept existence is a great-making property. Descartes says it is.
Which argument does Kant criticise?
The Cartesian argument
What did Kant argue?
That existence is not a predicate as it does not tell us anything about an object that would help us to identify it in any way.
Who does Malcolm agree with?
Kant
What does Malcolm agree with?
You cannot apply the Ontological argument to anything in the universe
What does Malcolm argue?
Malcolm argued that in order to be God, God must have necessary existence; he could not come into existence if he did not exist already, and he could not stop existing if he already exists. If God exists at all, then he exists in this eternal, necessary way.
What are the basic points to Malcolm’s argument?
- If God does not exist today, then he never can and never will- his existence must be impossible.
- If God does exist, then he must exist necessarily.
- God’s existence is therefore either impossible or necessary.
- God’s existence is not impossible. It is not logically contradictory to have the concept of a God who exists- it is an idea that we can entertain without any logical absurdity.
- Therefore, given that God’s existence is not impossible, it must be necessary- so God exists necessarily.
What is a major criticism to Malcolm’s argument?
there can be things that do not exist, without their existence being impossible.
Malcolm’s argument rests on our acceptance that God’s existence is not the same as other kinds of existence.
Who did Malcolm concede his argument was for?
that his argument was to confirm the faith of the theist, not convince the atheist.
What century did Anselm write in?
11th/12th
What was Descartes’ works called?
Meditations
Who revived the Ontological argument in the 20th century?
Hartshorn, Malcolm and Plantinga
What are the three key concepts to the Ontological argument?
Nature and Purpose of proof
Deductive, a priori, analytic
God/existence
Explain the first key feature (nature and purpose of proof)
Convert the atheist, affirm the faith of the theist
What is a deductive argument?
An argument which draws a conclusion from a set of premises
Explain the point: “a priori, analytic”
Prior to experience
True by definition
Explain the “God/ Existence” key feature
Predicate
A perfection
Existence is therefore a logically necessary predicate of an unlimitedly perfect being
Deduce a God’s existence from the concept of God
Aseity- Uniquely necessary existence
Self-generation
Only applied to God- or to that than which nothing greater…
Confirm God’s existence
What did Hume say about Existence?
Existence is not a logically necessary predicate because existential statements are synthetic
an analytic existential statement is a category error- yellow idea
What did Kant say about Existence?
Cannot have an analytical existential statement because existence is not a predicate because it does not change a definition. You don’t say “x has existence”.
You are talking about x in your mind. Existence performs a function. If you say “x exists” you are not talking about x you are talking about the idea of x. You can apply your idea of x if there is an instance of x in the world.
What did Russell say about Existence?
Russell takes a negative existential statement. “Unicorns do not exist” is not a statement about a unicorn lacking the property of existence. It is a statement about the idea of a unicorn in your mind. It cannot be applied to be reality because there is no unicorn.
What did Frege say about Existence?
Second order predicate. Frege agrees existence isn’t a describing word.
