Ontological Argument Flashcards
The Ontological Argument
proposed by anselm, the ontological argument argues that if god exists within reality, then he is the greatest conceivable being
Guanilo’s island - response to Anselm
argues that if anselms logic was valid, then one could define a perfect island into existence -> the argument is through reason solely
Anselm response to Guanilo criticism
God is not like an island because there must be more to God than simply existing; he is a necessary being - this is the basis of anselms second proof
deductive reasoning on the ontological argument
-if you accept the premises to be true, then the conclusion is typically true
eg) red meat has iron in it, and beef has red meet, so beef has iron within it
a priori - ontological argument
the ontological argument is an a priori argument as it is a form of reasoning that is independent of experience -> its conducted through reason alone
Anselms Ontological Argument
P1: god is the greatest conceivable being
P2: to be the greatest conceivable being, god must exist within the mind
Rene Descartes ontological argument
P1: god is perfect
P2: existence is perfection
C: therefore, god exists
Immanuel Kant - criticism to Anselm and Descartes ontological argument
- rejects arguments which treat existence as a predicate
- knowing that something exists tells us nothing about what it is
- the non-existence of god is also conceivable
Bertrand Russel Criticism to ontological arguments (anselm/descartes)
- builds upon kant criticism
- argues that things should only be described as existing if we can see them in the real world
- believes all ontological arguments are ‘bad grammar’, they made a linguistic mistake without realising they can exist to approve gods existence
Hume criticism on ontological argument
- the notion of necessity has no meaning
- if it did, why would it be just god?
- other things can be conceivable through necessity too
