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Ontological Argument - Coggle Diagram
Ontological Argument
Anselm
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Premise three: Something which exists in reality and in the mind is greater than something that exists and an idea in the mind alone.
Conclusion: therefore, God must exist in reality and in the mind.
Painter analogy: a painting in a painter's head is not as amazing as if the painter had a painting in reality.
What does this mean?
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Thus to say only exists in the mind would create a contradiction in logic. This because the 'fool' has to have an idea of what God is in the first place in order to dismiss it.
Following Anselm's definition and premises, something that exists in the mind and reality is greater than something that exists only in the mind.
To then conclude that God does not exist in reality is and absurd conclusion and a contradiction to logic.
Existence is a predicate
Anselm saw existence as a predicate (description or attribute that tells us something about the subject).
That subject or concept (God) has to have that predicate to be itself, quality contained within it.
So by analysing the word "God" it would be obvious that God exists., by Anselm.
e.g. A bachelor is an unmarried male (subject) , it's predicates would be it is male + unmarried
Subject = God , Predicate = Exists
Gaunilo's Criticism
Gaunilo believes you cannot prove from what is said to what exists in reality - you cannot demonstrate the existence of something by simply have an idea about it.
Gaunilo says the fool in psalms may argue all sorts of things in my mind do not exist really. Example of someone hearing something about a person from gossip which is unreliable/been made up to trick you.
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Anselm is not trying to prove God's existence using empiricism like the cosmological argument but is demonstrating what is true.