The Ontological Argument Flashcards
What were the key features of Anselm’s First argument?
the proslogian own faith that than which nothing greater can be conceived reality over mind therefore he exists
How did Gaunilo respond to Anselm?
he used reductio ad absurdum Perfect island it must be the best possible island it therefore has to be that than which nothing greater can be conceived reality over mind therefore the island must exist
What are the key features of Anselm’s second part of the argument?
God = the greatest conceivable being he cannot exist contingently God = GCB so must necessarily exist he cannot be thought of not to exist therefore God necessarily exists
What is Descartes first part of his argument?
a priori knowledge God = supremely perfect being humans are not SPB we could therefore not have came up with the definition of God it came from God himself he must exist to be perfect therefore God necessarily exists
Describe the second part of Descartes argument.
a supremely perfect being must exist necessarily
existence=perfection
so in order to exist, you must be perfect
God therefore has necessary existence and must exist
What did Descartes mean by Cogio ergo sum?
i think therefore i am
the existence of the self could be known as a known logical fact
accept this and we seek a wider knowledge of universe
What analogies did Descartes use?
a triangles angles = 180 degrees
illogical to think otherwise
it would be illogical to think of god without existence
because God=existence`
What did Aquinas say about the ontological argument?
we cannot define God
to define something implies that we have an understanding of it
God is beyond human understanding
cannot therefore define him
What did David Hume say?
cannot start with a definition and conclude God exists
God needs to be experienced
that is the only source of knowledge we have of God
he therefore agrees with aquinas
What does Kant believe about existence?
Existence is not a predicate
it does not add to our understanding of anything
a predicate must give us some information about the thing we are describing
existence does not tell us anything about the object or the individual
What did Bertrand Russell say about existence?
the word exists is used incorrectly
existence does not give you any information about anything
he agrees with Kant and Aquinas
What did Gottlob Frege say about the word ‘existence’?
replace the word existence with a number
Venus has 0 moons
there is not a moon with the property of 0, there are simply no moons.
he also says there are 4 horses, the number 4 doesn’t tell us anything about the horses, but saying there are 4 thoroughbred horses tells us something about their existence.
What did Alvin Plantinga say about the existence of God?
there is a possible world in which there is a being with maximal greatness (it must exist) and maximal excellence (omniscience)
if it exists in one world, it must exist in all possible worlds to be maximally great and excellent
it must therefore exist in our world
which means God exists
What did Norman Malcom say?
Gods definition is that of a necessary being
he must therefore exist if he has necessary existence
if he did not exist then he would not be the GCB
his existence must be either necessary of impossible
there is not disproof of God, therefore he myst exist
What did Tillich say?
it is wrong to try and prove the existence of God
it is wrong to place God on the same level as finite beings
God is above existence
we are therefore unable to define Gods nature
