The Ontological Argument

Question 0

what does analytic mean?

Answer 0

ridiculous to think of as false/true but definition

Question 1

what is the ontological argument based on?

Answer 1

the statement ‘god exists’ being analytically true (therefore it is incoherent to reject god’s existence)

Question 2

what does synthetic mean?

Answer 2

degree of truth depends on collectable evidence

Question 3

where did anselm’s publish his 1st argument?

Answer 3

proslogian

Question 4

what did anselm quote in the proslogian? (1st argument)

Answer 4

Psalm 14.1 - “the fool says in his heart ‘there is no God’”.

Question 5

what is anselms reflection on psalm 14.1?

Answer 5

his ontological argument

Question 6

what is the first step in anselm’s ontological argument?

Answer 6

‘god is that than which nothing greater can be concieved’

Question 7

what is the second step in anselm’s ontological argument?

Answer 7

god can exist either in the mind alone (in intellectu) or in reality (in re) too

Question 8

what is the 3rd step in anselm’s ontological argument?

Answer 8

3) existing in the mind and reality is better than just in the mind (imagined existence)

Question 9

what is the 4th step in anselm’s ontological argument?

Answer 9

4) god must exists both ‘in intellectu’ and ‘in re’

Question 10

what is anselm’s first argument a reply to?

Answer 10

the fool, and assume the fool has an idea in his head of what god is (greatest possible being) that can be thought of

Question 11

why is it better to exist in the mind and in reality?

Answer 11

because these things have the added quality of existence

Question 12

who was gaulino?

Answer 12

benedictine monk who wrote ‘on behalf of the fool’

Question 13

what did gaulino argue?

Answer 13

that it is ‘unintelligible’ to say god cannot fail to exist

Question 14

what did gaulino say was impossible?

Answer 14

to ontologically prove the existence of god

Question 15

what does gaulino say about gossip?

Answer 15

the fool can thinkk of anything that doesn’t exist in reality - gossip is unreliable

Question 16

what does gaulino argue about defining things into existence?

Answer 16

you can’t demonstrate existence purely through an idea

Question 17

what was gaulino’s island analogy?

Answer 17

anyone can think of the perfect island but that doesn’t make it exist

Question 18

what does gaulino think is absurd to think?

Answer 18

that something exists purely because you have an idea of it. teller.believer of this analogy must be an actual fool

Question 19

what did anselm reply to gaulino saying?

Answer 19

god’s existence is necessary. the perfect island can be conceived to not exist

Question 20

what did alvin plantinga say?

Answer 20

no matter how perfect an island is, it can always be improved; it has no INTRINSIC MAXIMUM

Question 21

what did alvin plantinga say is impossible?

Answer 21

it is impossible for a being greater than god to exist, so you cannot compare it to an island which has no intrinsic maximum

Question 22

what was anselm’s second argument?

Answer 22

also in response to gaulino’s criticisms

Question 23

what is the 1st point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

Answer 23

1)’god is that than which nothing greater can be concieved’

Question 24

what is the 2nd point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

Answer 24

something which cannot be thought not to exist is greater than something which can

Question 25

what is the 3rd point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

Answer 25

it is impossible to think that this being cannot exist

Question 26

what is the 4th point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

Answer 26

this being we call god

Question 27

what can we conclude from anselm’s 2nd argument?

Answer 27

it is impossible for god not to exist = god must exist. it is a philisophical and logical contradiction to say ‘god doesn’t exist’

Question 28

what is necessary existence?

Answer 28

when something has to exist and cannot fail to exist. it exists by necessity

Question 29

what is contingence?

Answer 29

a contingent thing must refer on something else in order to fully explain its existence

Question 30

what does anselm say about god and necessary/contingent existence?

Answer 30

god must necessarily exist because if he depended on something else for his existence, he would be less great than a necessary being

Question 31

where does descartes ontological argument come from?

Answer 31

‘meditation on philosophy’ - given in meditation 5

Question 32

what does descartes say showing god’s existence is about?

Answer 32

it is about showing there is no reason to doubt god’s existence

Question 33

what did descartes say about triangles?

Answer 33

nature of a triangle is that it has three sides and three internal angles adding up to 180 degrees - it is a triangle regardless of whether we have an idea of the nature or not

Question 34

what is a predicate of god?

Answer 34

existence

Question 35

summary of descartes argument

Answer 35

1) god is a supremely perfect being
2) existence is a perfection
3) god, being perfect, must logically exist

Question 36

what is existence to descartes?

Answer 36

existence is a perfection - something not lacking any ‘good’ quality. something cannot be perfect unless it exists in reality

Question 37

what does descartes say god and existence go together like?

Answer 37

the mountain and the valley

Question 38

why should we believe?

Answer 38

1) by studying the biblical idea of god, it is clear that perfection existence is part of god’s nature
2) existence is a perfection - god, the ‘supremely perfect being’, must exist

Question 39

evaluation :kant and others

Answer 39

existence is not a predicate - one can imagine a unicorn but that doesn’t mean it exists in reality. existence is a part of the concept of god, but this isn’t evidence for god’s existence in reality

Question 40

what are all philosophical statements about existence?

Answer 40

synthetic - god’s existence must be verified

Question 41

although the concept of a necessary being is explainable by logic, what doesn’t it make it?

Answer 41

a reality