Ontological argument Flashcards
What does ontology mean?
a study of ‘existence’
What kind of argument is it?
- a priori
- deductive
- analytic
Why did Anselm come up with the ontological argument?
To support faith (“faith seeking understanding”), which he believed was more important than reason
In his Monologium, what does Anselm say we have a shared sense of?
Justice
Why does he believe we have a shared sense of justice?
He believes we can all agree in how just a given situation is.
* As we all agree across cultures, this idea of justice does not come from communities, otherwise we could not agree. Anselm believes that justice comes from elsewhere.
Where does Anselm say justice comes from?
- Justice must derive from a being that is all good. Justice is an idea in the mind of God and it is God that gives us the ability to know and understand justice.
- Anselm says if we all have a shared sense of justice, we must all have a shared concept of this being that is all good.
- Anselm concludes that even an atheist can recognise that there is a common concept of justice, and therefore, they must also have a concept of where it comes from. It must come from a being that is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. This is the first premise of his argument.
What is Anselm’s first argument?
Premise 1: God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived.
Premise 2: It is greater to exist in the mind and reality than to exist in just the mind.
Conclusion: If God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived, he must exist in the mind and reality, otherwise there could be a being that exists in mind and reality which is greater than God, if he only exists in the mind.
What does this first argument mean?
If god is that than which no greater god can be conceived, it must exist in the mind and reality, otherwise there could be a god that exists in mind and reality which is then greater, if the god only exists in the mind.
What is Anselm’s analogy of the painter?
Anselm compares the case to that of a painter executing a painting. A painter might have a certain image in mind before realizing it on the canvas. Before the painting, it is only in his mind; after the painting, it is both in his mind and on the canvas
How does Davies support the second premise?
“a £5 in my pocket is greater than a £5 in my imagination”
How does Gaunilo criticise Anselm?
Premise 1: Imagine an island that is ‘that than which no greater Island can be conceived.’
Premise 2: It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind.
Conclusion: If the island is that than which no greater island can be conceived, it must exist in the mind and reality, otherwise there could be an island that exists in mind and reality which is then greater, if the island only exists in the mind.
Therefore, Gaunilo said Anselm’s argument is absurd as you could reason anything into existence, and obviously those islands don’t exist.
How does Anselm respond to Gaunilo?
Anselm did not see this as a valid criticism because the island is contingent. He came up with his second form of the ontological argument.
What is the second part of Anselm’s ontological argument?
Premise 1: God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’.
Premise 2: It is greater to be necessary (can not fail to exist) than contingent (comes in and out of existence).
Conclusion: If God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived, God must be necessary, otherwise a being could exist that was necessary and would therefore be greater than God, a contradiction.
How does Platinga support Anselm?
You cannot compare God to an island - islands are contingent (come in and out of existence) and we can always add to an island. God is not the same.
How does Aquinas criticise Anselm?
- We do not all share a common concept of God. The human mind is finite and so not capable of knowing an infinite God - so God will always be unknowable, so we can’t all agree on a definition of God. Aquinas believed that Anselm’s argument could only prove that we have an idea of God in our minds but he could not prove that this idea of God exists outside of the mind as a reality.