ontological argument Flashcards
what is ontology?
the study of being and existence
what is a priori?
reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience
what is a deductive argument?
drawing valid inferences, conclusion follows logically from premises
what is Anslems overall argument?
if it is possible that God exists then it follows logically that God does exist
what does Anselm argue God is?
greatest conceivable being, maximally great, and perfect
what is it better to exist in? mind or mind and reality?
mind and reality
what must God exist in if he is the greatest conceivable being?
mind and reality
what does Anselm say is the logical contradiction regarding God?
if God is greatest thing we can think of and he does not exist, would not be greatest thing we can think of, a real thing is greater as it is more real
what is Anselm’s analogy of a painter?
a painter conceived in their mind the concept of their painting before they paint it, once they have painted it exists as a concept in both their mind and reality which is better
what type of existence does God have?
necessary existence
how does necessary existence link to Anselm’s argument?
if God has necessary existence is is not even possible for him to be thought to not exist, he has to exist
what is a contingent being?
a being that depends on other things for it’s existence
what does it mean when we say God has supreme value?
everything that is worthwhile exists in God in an unsurpassable way
what does the Ontological argument actually aim to do?
argue analytically that God exists necessarily, show that it is illogical that God does not exist
what is Anselm’s argument, predicates and conclusion?
- God is being which nothing greater can be conceived
- better to exist in reality and mind than just in mind
- God must exist in reality + mind, if God only existed in mind can conceive of something greater
how can we use an analogy of money to explain Anselm’s argument?
real pound in your pocket will always be better than the imaginary wad of notes in your mind
what did Gaunilo accuse Anselm of doing?
making an illegitimate leap from existence in the mind to existence in reality
how did Guanilo use a perfect island to critique Anselm?
imagine an island with abundance of all good things, greatest conceivable island, with Anselm’s logic this island must exist in reality- but does it???
how did Guanilo use people’s ideas of island to critique Anselm?
all people have different ideas of the perfect island in their mind, therefore the greatest conceivable island cannot exist in reality as it would not be the greatest conceivable island for everyone
what did Anselm argue about things such as islands to defend his argument?
they exist contingently, they don’t have to exist for us to imagine them
what is Gods existence according to Anselm?
necessary and logical and therefore must exist
what do islands not have like God?
intrinsic maximum, can always be bettered
do Guanilos objections successfully refute Anselm’s argument?
no
what did Descartes argue God had to be?
ultimately perfect in every way, in order to be God
what did Descartes believe perfection implied?
existence, God must exist to be completely perfect
how did Descartes use a triangle to support his argument?
just as absurd to think of a perfect being that did not exist as it was to conceive of a triangle without 3 sides or angles. It is the nature of the triangle to have 3 sides, nature of God to exist
what does Anselm argue the unbeliever must have?
a definition of God in order to dismiss it as a concept
what are reductio ad absurdum arguments?
begin with a proposition and attempt to prove through logical reasoning that it would be absurd to reject the proposition
what is Descartes argument simple terms?
1.God = supremely perfect being
2. existence is a perfection
3. illogical to think of concept of God without concept of existence
what does Kant argue existence is not?
a predicate, it is not a quality in the same way red and large are
how does Kant use his analogy of 200 pounds to support his argument?
if i have 200 existing pounds and 200 imaginary pounds the idea of pound stays exactly the same whether it exists or nkt
what does Kant argue God is not?
an exception to the rule- all the argument does is provide a definition of God to see whether the world might have such a being who could fulfil the criteria
what must a predicate do according to Kant?
give us information about X, saying ‘X is’ gives us no information
what is the Proslogian?
prayer written by Anselm looks at nature of God from a number of different aspects
if a definition or concept of God exists in everyone’s minds, what does this show/ lead to?
everyone has concept, God must exist in reality too, existence in both mind and reality needed for God to be greatest conceivable being
what is De Dicto?
relating to the form of an assertion or expression itself, rather than any property of a thing it refers to
what is De Re?
relating to the properties of things mentioned in an assertion or expression, rather than to the assertion or expression itself
what does Guanilo argue using De Dicto and De Re?
you cannot define God into existence moving from the idea De Dicto to assuming it’s existence in reality De Re
what is Anselm’s 2nd Formulation, defending against Guanilo?
- Island is contingent + changing
- any contingent thing can be conceived as not-existing
- a being than which nothing greater can be conceived cannot not exist
- Gods existence is necessary
who says existence is a predicate of perfection?
Descartes
what 2 types of necessity does Malcom argue there are?
logical necessity and factual necessity
what is logical necessity?
it is illogical to suggest that something is the case, statements which are analytical rely on logic for meaningfulness
what is factual necessity?
it is provably wrong to suggest that something is the case, statements which are synthetic rely on empirical evidence for meaningfulness
what does Malcom say about Gods existence?
if God is greater possible being and does not exist, he cannot come into existence
why does Malcolm argue God can’t come into existence if he doesn’t exist?
he has necessary existence, he cannot be cause to come into existence
what is Malcom’s argument?
1.God GPB, if doesn’t exist cant come into existence
2. God has necessary existence
3.God either always existed or will never exist
4.If God exists his existence is necessary
5. Existence cannot be impossible- self contradictory, so God necessarily exists
how does Malcom misuse the word impossible?
uses it to mean something cannot be true because of a matter of fact and also to mean something logically contradictory
what does Malcom’s argument only do?
show that Gods existence is necessary IF God exists, not that God actually exists
how does Guanilo use empiricism to support his criticism?
there are no example of perfect things in the world, no perfect pen, book etc but if things are perfect they must exist otherwise it is a contradiction to call them perfect
what does Anselm say about fouls and understanding?
they do not understand the concept of God, they say the words there is no God or God does not exists but this is a result of them not truly comprehending the concept of God
what is a defining predicate?
a description that is necessary to the concept
what is Descartes’ quote?
I cannot conceive a God without existence
what does Kant argue there is not contradiction in doing?
rejecting a concept together with all its predicates e.g you can accept being half woman and half fish is a defining predicate of a mermaid but you aren’t contradicting yourself by saying you don’t believe in mermaidw
what does immutable mean?
incapable of change/being different
what does Plantiga say about Kant’s criticisms?
they are limited in refuting the ontological argument, must show where the argument goes wrong by identifying a premise that makes a mistake
how did Kants empiricism influence his criticisms?
believed statements about god must be synthetic and be proved through experience, Gods existence cannot be proven using reasoning
what philosophers support the OA?
Anselm, Descartes, Norman Malcom, Plantiga
what philosophers reject the OA?
Kant, Aquinas, Guanilo, Bertrand Russell, Gottlob Frege, Hume
what does Aquinas say about the OA?
-we don’t have agreed definition of God so can’t say he is greatest possible being
-can’t know Gods nature, only reason to what Gods like through experience
what does Bertrand Russell say about the OA?
-existence not a predicate- not property of things but idea of things
-Anselm used word exist incorrectly
-existence = extension of intention- describing something
what does Plantiga say about the OA?
there is infinite no. possible worlds- one world with max greatest being- can only have max greatness if exist in all worlds- God must exist in our world
what does Frege say about the OA?
-1st order predicates tell us something about nature of something
-2nd order predicates tell us about concepts
-Anselm and Descartes use existence as 1st order predicates when actually 2nd order predicate
what does Hume say about the OA?
cannot define something into existence, only way to find out if something exists to look for evidence outside thing itself
what are 3 strengths of the OA?
a priori-no uncertainty regarding sense experience
deductive-seeks to provide definitive proof of existence of God
logic- uses reason + logic
what is an analytical statement?
a statement which it is ridiculous and impossible to think is false
what is a synthetic statement?
a statement in which the statements truth or falsity depends on evidence which has to be collected
what is a predicate?
a quality or property of an object or subject
