Ontological Argument Flashcards
What is Ontological Argument?
is ‘A priori’ uses reason can be express using logical arguments
Wha is Anslem first argument?
-Premise one God is the greatest possible being (nothing greater can be conceived)
-Premise Two It is greater to exist in reality than to not exist in mind
-Premise Three: Anyone who accepts the definition but think God doesn’t exist is contradicting themselves (because they can imagine something greater than the thing they are thinking) -Conclusion Therefore either have to give up the definition or accept that God exists
What is Guanilo response to Anslem?
Gaunilo’s argument states that the logic of Anselm’s argument can be used mutatis mutandis (by substitution of terms) to prove the existence if a perfect island
-Now if anyone tell me that (the island is perfect) I shall easily understand what is said since nothing is difficult about it. But if he should then go on to say as though it were a logical consequences of this
What is Anslem second Argument?
counter Gaunilo Island is the understanding of ‘necessary existence’ When Anselm heard Gaunilo’s objection he referred him to this argument saying that you cannot substitute God with an Island because Island can always be improved
-If God exist he must be necessary
-If God does not exist it could only be because his existence is logically impossible
-God is not logically a possible thing
-Therefore God existence is necessary and therefore God exists
What is Guanilo Second argument ?
No mere ordinary human could conceive-God’s Nature, premise 1 of Anselm argument is unjustified we should recognised that with our limited, fallible minds could ever fully understand and define God
What does Aquinas say that supports Guanilo second argument?
he says that God will always remain unknowable to the human mind so this means we cannot have a definition of God that we can be certain of this means we cannot conclude that God must exist because of his definition
What does Platinga say that defends Anslem?
TTWNGCBC’ (That nothing which nothing great can be conceived) is a special distinctive concept that is why the logic if Anslem argument only works for this specific entity not for entities that are relatively perfect (like island) ‘An island greater than which cannot be conceived’ is not coherent as a concept
-Plantinga pointed out that Islands have no intrinsic maximum they can always be bettered
What is Kant criticism of the Ontological argument ?
He rejects premise 3 and claims that existence does not function as a predicate it’s not a quality.
-Kant says “Existence is not a predicate’’
What is a predicate?
is a word or part of a sentence stating something about the subject of the sentence
What does Rusell says that Backs up Kant?
'’Existence is not a Predicate’’ if it was then E.g. Men exist, Santa Claus is a man therefore Santa Claus exists
*-Trying to say Existence is not part of these concepts. To say that something exists is to say that something which matches the concept that is found in the real world e.g. Cows, Unicorn and God
What is Descartes argument?
Backs up Anselm.To be truly perfect something must exist. Existence is a part of the perfection of God which God cannot lack (predicate)
E.g. A triangle has three sides and three angle that add up to 180 degrees= truth of mathematics that cannot be doubted
-Just as the three sides tells us something about the nature of triangle -God’s nature is God exists
-This is because ‘Necessary Existence’ cannot be divorced from God or you won’t have a triangle and God cannot be contingent
