Ontological argument

Question 1

Quote from Anselm

Answer 1

Credu ut intelligem

‘I believe so that I may understand’- he is not attempting to convince those who don\t already believe

Question 2

Explain Anselm’s ontological argument

Answer 2

Written as a prayer in ‘Proslogion’
A-priori, inductive, de dicto necessity (from definition)
God is ‘greater than which nothing can be conceived’
To exist in re (in reality) is greater than to exist in intellectu (in the mind)
God must exist in reality

Question 3

How is Anselm’s argument supported by the principle of non-contradiction?

Answer 3

‘Two contradicting statements cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time’
To be necessary is better than to be contingent
If you understand the concept of God, you cannot deny he exists

Question 4

Quote from Augustine about the nature of God

Answer 4

‘if you claim that you have grasped God, what you have grasped is not God’

Question 5

What are Gaunilo’s two main arguments against Anselm

Answer 5

1. God is too unknowable to have any accurate definition of God. Therefore any ideas based on the definition Weill be flawed.
2. reducto ad absurdum- when applied to the perfect island the logic of it existing becomes ridiculous

Question 6

What are the 4 main arguments Anselm uses to respond to Gaunilo?

Answer 6

1. God is incomparable to an island
2. God is necessary and therefore cannot be compared to an island which is contingent
3. Greatest possible is objective, whereas perfect is subjective to Gaunilo’s preference
4. Islands are not perfect by definition. It is not an essential property of an island. God must be perfect otherwise he is not god.

Question 7

What arguments did Kant use against the ontological argument?

Answer 7

Existence is not a predicate (it is not a property that adds to our knowledge of the subject, revealing information)
Whether but is exists or not does not add to the concept

Question 8

Give strengths of Anselm’s argument

Answer 8

1. It may lead to the acceptance of some deity, and does not necessarily have to be one of a particular religion
2. No inductive leap from his existence to what he is like
3. A-priori and deductive- based on logic, if the premises are true it must be true, one definite answer, not influenced by the illusions of experience, objective
4. It was never intended to prove God’s existence, therefore cannot fail as proof (fails due to misapplication of the idea)
5. Descartes- God must be perfect in order to be God. (However, something has to be the greatest, but something doesn’t have to be perfect)