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Philosophy > The Ontological Argument > Flashcards

The Ontological Argument Flashcards

1
Q

What does the specification tell us we need to know?

A

-Anselm’s Version
-Gaunilo’s Version
-Kant’s Criticisms

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2
Q

What does it mean if the premises are: 1.Valid 2.Sound?

A

If the premises are valid then they are logical and lead to a conclusion.
If the premises are sound the premises have to be true and lead to a logical conclusion.

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3
Q

What kind of argument is Anselm’s?

A

A Priori deductive argument

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4
Q

State Anselm’s definition of God.

A

‘God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived’

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5
Q

Name both Anselm’s formulations.

A

1.mind and reality
2. Contingency and Necessary

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6
Q

Explain Anselm’s First Formulation.

A

premise 1: ‘God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived’

premise 2: ‘Things exist either in the mind alone or in the mind and reality’

premise 3: ‘It is greater to exit in the mind and reality than in the mind alone’

Conclusion: ‘God exists in the mind and reality’

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7
Q

How was Anselm’s Argument Written?

A

In his book Proslogian in the form of a prayer for fellow Christians

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8
Q

What did Anselm want to gain from his argument

A

A greater understanding of the uniqueness of God
‘faith seeking understanding’.

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9
Q

Why does Anselm believe you cannot deny God’s existence?

A

As the word ‘existence’ is a predicate of God.

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10
Q

What does Anselm reference to when talking about the ‘fool’?

A

The book of Psalms.

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11
Q

Why does Anselm believe atheists are fools?

A

‘The fool says in there heart there is no God’
In order for atheists to reject God they have to know what there rejecting.

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12
Q

What does Anselm’s whole argument rely on?

A

The principle of non-contradiction
Argues that if we accept the definition then it is illogical to reject God’s existence

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13
Q

Who is Gaunilo?

A

A christian monk contemporary to Anselm.

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14
Q

What did Gaunilo write to defend the ‘fool’?

A

‘On behalf of the Fool’
Understanding the definition of God doesn’t necessarily mean that God exists.

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15
Q

Explain Gaunilo’s ‘perfect island’.

A

If Anselm’s logic truly worked then it can be applied to anything.
Replacing ‘God’ with ‘Island’ shows how his logic fails.
You can imagine the greatest island however for the island to truely be great it must exist.However we know we cannot bring it into existence.

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16
Q

What did Gaunilo use when criticising Anselm?

A

‘Reductio ad Absurdum’
Disproving a argument by showing the absurdity of it leading to a conclusion.

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17
Q

What examples does Gaunilo use when arguing understanding is not accepting?

A

-You can accept the existence of unicorns without accepting they exist in reality.
-Mermaid can be accepted they are half woman half fish

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18
Q

What did Anelm use for his 3rd premise that Gaunilo criticised?

A

A painting-It is greater for the painting to exist in reality on the canvas than in the idea that exist firstly in the mind of the painter.

Gaunilo-There is a distinct difference between the initial idea and the final product.

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19
Q

What did Gaunilo give a example for his argument that he cannot imagine God existing in reality?

A

Gossip
You may hear gossip about a man you don’t know.Though you don’t know the man you can still imagine him because you have experienced it.

1.We cannot imagine God as we have no reference

The man exists in the mind however not reality because it’s gossip.

2.Even if we accept god exists in the mind that does;t mean h exist in reality.

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20
Q

What did Gaunilo’s Criticisms Lead to?

A

Anselm’s 2nd Formulation

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21
Q

What did Anselm say that Gaunilo did when creating the criticism of the ‘Prefect Island’?

A

Misplacing logic
It’s invalid as a island is contingent and God’s existence is necessary.
Logic only works with God due to his uniqueness

22
Q

How does Anselm defend his painting analogy from Gaunilo?

A

Gaunilo took his analogy too literally he was simply showing the coherence of his logic

23
Q

Explain Anselm’s Second Formulation.

A

Premise 1: ‘God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived’

Premise 2: ‘Things either exist contingently or necessarily’

Premise 3: ‘It is greater to exist necessarily than contingently’

Conclusion: ‘God exist necessarily’

24
Q

Who else proposed a ontological argument other than Anselm and Gaunilo?

A

Decartes

25
Q

What is Decartes definition of God?

A

‘God is a supremely perfect being’
Includes supremely perfect characteristics such as existence which is a predicate.

26
Q

What was Decartes examples about?

A

Inseparable ideas in which it would be contradictory to think of one without the other.

27
Q

What were Decartes examples?

A

-Mountain : Valley
-Triangle : Interior angles add up to 180 deg
-God : Existence

28
Q

How does Decartes reason the difference of the God as a inseparable idea?

A

Existence is absolute perfection it is part of the concept of God.

29
Q

Explain Decartes premises.

A

Premise 1: ‘i have an idea of God’

Premise 2: ‘A supremely perfect being must have all perfections’

Premise 3: ‘Existence is a perfection’

Conclusion: Therefore God exists

30
Q

Who is Kant?

A

Enlightenment thinker responding to Kant, wrote after Anselm.

31
Q

Why was Kant sceptical of all arguments?

A

Humans are limited to how they perceive reality

32
Q

What worlds did Kant say we have?

A

Noumenal-how the world is
Phenomenal-How we experience the world

33
Q

How does Kant argue that Existence is not a predicate?

A

A genuine predicate must add to our conception of the subject.Saying ‘God exists’ doesn’t add to our conception of God.

34
Q

What is the analogy Kant used to argue that existence is not a predicate of God?

A

100 coins in reality versus the mind.

35
Q

Explain the analogy Kant used.

A

-100 real coins and 100 imaginary coins
-out concept of 100 actual coins is the same as 100 non actual coin
-so saying ‘100 coins exist’, isn’t identfying any new property of God
-100 coins in the minds is the same as 100 coins in reality

However by saying that ‘100 coins are round’ as it identifies a property.

36
Q

Explain Kant’s premises for a genuine predicate.

A

Premise 1: A genuine predicate adds to our conception of a subject

Premise 2: ‘existence don’t out to our conception of a subject

Conclusion: Therefore, existence isn’t a genuine predicate

37
Q

How does Kant’s rejection of existence being a genuine predicate link to Aselm’s and Decartes’s Ontological arguments

A

As the entire basis of there argument relies on that existence is a predicate of God, so if Kant’s rejection is successful this leads to there arguments being unsound and failing.

38
Q

What did Kant believe could add to our conception of a subject?

A

Analytic statements

39
Q

How does Kant directly criticise Decartes?

A

He uses Decartes triangle example, to argue that it isn’t contradictory to understand God but reject him.As it is logically necessary for a triangle to have 3 sides but not necessarily meaning triangles exist.

40
Q

Who further supports Kant’s Criticisms?

A

Bertrand Russell

41
Q

How does Bertrand Russell as reject that existence is a predicate?

A

Exists means ‘corresponds to something in the actual real world’
So by saying ‘God exists’, we are saying that ‘a benevolent, omnipotent and omniscient being exists in the world’
But this must be demonstrated empirically which is the opposite of ontological arguments.

42
Q

What did Bertrand Russell say that ontological argument did?

A

Misuse language

43
Q

How does Bertrand Russell show the misuse of language?

A

‘The present king of France is bald’- statement is false
‘the present kink of France is not bald’ - statement is also false
BECAUSE THERE IS NO MONARCHY IN FRANCE

44
Q

Who created the premises
premise 1: men exists
premise 2: Santa is a man
Conclusion: Santa exists

A

Bertrand Russell

45
Q

How does Aquinas challenge the Ontological argument?

A

To say ‘God exists’ is beyond the limit of human comprehension because we don’t have a shared understanding of who God is.
The only way to God is an indirect one which is through God’s effects (a posterior).

46
Q

How does the Epistemic Distance challenge the ontological argument?

A

Religious believers such as John Hick believe that we have an epistemic distance (gap in knowledge) due to God’s benevolence of wanting genuine belief and giving free will. If the ontological argument was successful this means there would be conclusive evidence that takes away the doubt causing there to be no free will.

47
Q

What did J Cottingham say about arguments all being ‘faith seeking understanding’?

A

Ontological arguments are only likely to convince those who already believe in God as they are formed by those who have faith.

48
Q

Explain the logical leap as a strength for the Ontological argument.

A

In any argument for the existence of God, there has been at some point a leap of faith needed meaning reason and observation aren’t enough to fully prove God’s existence.

49
Q

What is the difference between an analytic statement and a synthetic statement?

A

Synthetic statements provide additional information about the subject whereas Analytic statements are where the predicate is contained within the definition of the subject.

50
Q

Who is Alvin Plantinga?

A

He also proposed an ontological argument in defense of Anselm saying that an island and God are incomparable.

Philosophy (12 decks)

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