Ontological Argument

Question 1

Anselms book

Answer 1

Proslogion

Question 2

Why did anselm come up with the Ontological Argument

Answer 2

“Faith seeking understanding” rather than to convert the opinions of atheists
hence why it is written as a prayer not a philosophical thesis

Question 3

Ontological Argument is

Answer 3

A priori
Analytic
Deductive

Question 4

Origins of the Ontological Argument

Answer 4

Psalm 53 says “the fool says in his heart there is no God”. Anselm argues this is a logical contradiction. By the fools using the term “God” he has created in his mind a being and therefore has made God a conceivable being. For god to be able to be conceived he must exist. Anselm writes “how was the fool able to say in his heart what he was unable to conceive?”

Question 5

Anselms conclusion quote for the first formulation of the argument

Answer 5

“Without doubt, therefore, there exists in the understand and the reality something than which a greater cannot be thought”

Question 6

Anselms painter quote to support formulation one

Answer 6

“For when a painter thinks ahead to what he will paint, he has that picture in his thought…if it is to exist only in thought then it could be thought to existing in reality as well, which is greater”

Question 7

JL Mackies Argument to support necessary existence

Answer 7

Train engine and carriages

Engine is necessary
Carriages are contingent
Train can exist with engine and without carriages but not without an engine and with carriages

Question 8

Gaunilos letter

Answer 8

On behalf of the fool

Question 9

Gaunilos conclusion quote

Answer 9

“I do not know whom I would regard the greater fool, me for accepting it or him for supposing he had proved the existence of this island

Question 10

Explain Aquinas’s Gods existence is not “self evident” argument

Answer 10

Likens it to truth
“Truth does not exist” is nonsensical cuz to accept truth of truth does not exist, then truth must exist. Impossible to think truth doesn’t exist
Not impossible to think God doesn’t exist as athiests do

Question 11

Quote of aquinass argument that not everyone has the same definition of God

Answer 11

“Perhaps not everyone who he’s the name God understands it to signify something than which nothing can be thought”

Question 12

Outline Gaskings criticism

Answer 12

The creation of the world is the most supreme achievement conceivable. The greater the limitation of the creation, the more impressive the achievement. Gasking believed the greatest limitation would be if the creator is on existent. A world created by a non existent creator would be greater than one created by an existent creator. An existent creator is therefore not the greatest conceivable being. Gasking concludes that God does not exist

Question 13

Humes critism of the Ontological Argument

Answer 13

Existence can only ever be contingent. Things that exist have the ability to not exist. “We cannot define something into existence even if it has all he perfections we can think of”. No possible to move from de dicto to in re

Question 14

Descartes book

Answer 14

Meditations

Question 15

Descartes was a

Answer 15

Rationalist

Question 16

Another name for Descartes Ontological Argument

Answer 16

Cartesian Ontological Argument

Question 17

What did Descartes believe

Answer 17

All born with innate ideas that are imprinted on our minds from birth, which are universally shared by all of humanity, like Gods existence

Question 18

Descartes argument

Answer 18

God is “a supremely perfect being”
Existence is a perfection
For God to be a supremely perfect being he cannot lack anything. Therefore he must exist because if he didn’t then he would lack existence and therefore would not be supremely perfect

Question 19

Descartes conclusion quote

Answer 19

“From the fact that I cannot conceive God without existence, it follows that existence is inseparable from him”

Question 20

Descartes book

Answer 20

Meditations

Question 21

Descartes was a

Answer 21

Rationalist

Question 22

Another name for Descartes Ontological Argument

Answer 22

Cartesian Ontological Argument

Question 23

What did Descartes believe

Answer 23

All born with innate ideas that are imprinted on our minds from birth, which are universally shared by all of humanity, like Gods existence

Question 24

Descartes argument

Answer 24

God is “a supremely perfect being”
Existence is a perfection
For God to be a supremely perfect being he cannot lack anything. Therefore he must exist because if he didn’t then he would lack existence and therefore would not be supremely perfect

Question 25

Descartes conclusion quote

Answer 25

“From the fact that I cannot conceive God without existence, it follows that existence is inseparable from him”

Question 26

Descartes triangle quote

Answer 26

“Three angles equal two right angles”

Essence of a triangle

Question 27

Malcolm’s Ontological Argument

Answer 27

Premise 1: god is that than which nothing greater can be thought
Premise 2: necessary existence is a perfection
Premise 3: if God possesses all perfections he possesses necessary existence
Premise 4: things that have necessary existence cannot not exist
Conclusion: God must exist

Question 28

Plantinga uses

Answer 28

Model logic

Question 29

Plantingas Ontological Argument

Answer 29

Premise 1: possible world with a being with maximal greatness. Maximal greatness means has the ability to exist in all worlds
Premise 2: maximally great beings have maximal excellence like omnipotence
Premise 3: our world is a possible world
Conclusion: maximally great being exits in our world this person is God