Ontological Arguent As A Proof

Question 1

The argument does offer proof

Answer 1

If someone accepts Anselm’s definition of God, this deductive argument offers certain proof (unlike probabilistic inductive arguments)

It is a priori and therefore does not rely on fallible sense experience.

Question 2

The argument does not offer proof

Answer 2

Kant: Ontological arguments merely show that ‘IF’ God exists, He exists necessarily.

The argument only works if someone accepts Anselm’s definition of God - it is therefore limited.

Question 3

Karl Barth - Anselm’s argument is about faith, not logic.

Answer 3

Anselm is not trying to prove the existence of God using his argument. Instead, this argument is the result of a religious experience Anselm had in which God revealed his nature as ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. The argument is therefore true for those with faith, because it is an expression of their faith.