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ONTOLOGICAL ARGUEMENT, The Ontological Arguement is deductive and based on…
ONTOLOGICAL ARGUEMENT
CHALLENGES
GUALINO
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argues that it produces true premises but a false conlusion // as the concept of a perfect island does not actually exist - we all have different definitions of a perfect island and we can al keep adding things to features to this "perfcet island" / perception of perfect isalnd can always change in our mind
Therefore the perfect island existing in ou mind is sepreate from it exsting in reality
Anselm responsed to this arguement in Prosologian 3 / argues that Gualino has misunderstood his arguement as Gos is a necessary being an island is not and s cannot be compare to God
KANT
Rejects Decartes 3 sided triangle analogy // argues that God cannot be argued into existence / One can reject the concept of a triangle and all its properites in the same way one can reject God and all his properties
Arguemnt that Existence is not a Predicate - it does not actually tell us what the object is like or the nature of the object // Analogy of 100 coins - markings sizes and weught are prediactes but saying the coins exust tell you nothing about the coin
Arguement of Existence as a Predicate Paradox - a predicate is a qualityt that can be possesed or lacked, it makes no sese to say that an item or being kacks the predicate of existence if there is a possiblity that the being or item doesnt exist in the first place.
The nature of the arguement itself fails as it utilises CIRCULAR LOGIC - one may accept one of the premises but this doaes not automatically mean that the conclusion is correct or follows.
The arguement is reliant on the idea of Gods nature and existence by definition - which in itself needs to be verified / there is no wa of proving this.
Issue of leading with conclusion
ORIGINS / ST ANSELM
GREATEST POSSIBLE BEING
rooted in Psalm 14 "the fool has sais in his heart there is no God"
argues to den Gods existence goes against reason
- The concept of God is that which nothing greater can be conceived
- God exists in the mind ("in intellectu")
- If God only existed in the mind we could imagine somthing greater than he is both in reality ("in re")
- That being which we conceive would then be greater than God
- Therefore God must exist in reality
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NECESSERY EXISTENCE
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- God is that than which nothing can be conceived
- It is greater to be an necessary being in reality than one that is not necessary
- By defnition if God exists within the mind, but is not necessary, we can conceive a being greater than him - one that is necessary
- It is logically impossible to imagine anything greater than God
- Therefore God exsits as a necessary being
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DEVELOPMENT
DECARTES
develops the approach taken by Anselm beginnig with God described through the positive terms of perfection
The perfections ascribed to God through the classical thiesm are Omnipotence, Omnibenevolence and Omniscience - Anselm adds Perfection
- The idea of God is to be a supremly perfect being
- A supremly perfect being has all perfections
- Existence is the predicate of a supremly perfect being - exitence cannot be seprate from a supremly perfect being (perfect being should be perfect in all ways)
- Therefore God exists
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2nd Arguement is that
We are able to conveive the idea of a perfect being as imperfect beings.
Due to our imperfections we could not have come up with the idea of a perfect being alone
The idea of a perfect being must have originated from a perfect being
c : A perfect being exists
MALCOLM
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Focuses on God as an UNLIMITED BEING and Gods existence as necessary rather than just possible (accepting anslems prosologion 3)
- God is that whcich nothing greater can be conceived
- if he doesnt exist, he cannot begi to exist
- To begin to exist this requires a cause which is a limitation incositent with God.
- Either God is impossible ot necessary
- Gos is not impossible and therfore exits necessarily
The Ontological Arguement is deductive and based on the priori throught of Anslems Prosologion and God as the greatest prossoble being