1D: Origins of the Ontological Argument

Question 1

What are the 3 basic assumptions of the Ontological argument?

Answer 1

1. God’s existence can be known independently of experience (a priori)
2. God is the most perfect being
3. something is obviously more perfect for existing in the real world

Question 2

Key quote from Anselm about the Ontological argument

Answer 2

“we believe that you are something than which nothing greater can be thought”

Question 3

What does deductive mean?

Answer 3

if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true

Question 4

What does ontological mean?

Answer 4

concerned with being

Question 5

What does the Ontological argument attempt to show?

Answer 5

the very being/concept of god implies his existence in reality

Question 6

Which Archbishop of Canterbury is most associated with the Ontological argument?

Answer 6

Anselm

Question 7

What did Anselm state was a universally acceptable definition of the word ‘God’?

Answer 7

an object of worship

Question 8

Quote from Psalm 53 about Atheists?

Answer 8

“the fool has said in his heart that there is no god”

Question 9

What did Anselm argue that Atheists must do?

Answer 9

understand the concept of God (that he is TTWNGCBC)

Question 10

Why do Ontological Arguments claim their premises are unassailable?

Answer 10

because the only concern the widely accepted definition of God

Question 11

How does the Ontological Argument work and what does this mean?

Answer 11

• it is meant to be deductively valid. if the premises are true then the conclusion must be true too. the argument attempts to show that the very concept of god implies his existence
• this means: example of Anselm - God is an object of worship. worship implies total devotion towards that object. worship implies the object must not just happen to exist - its non existence in inconceivable

Question 12

What is meant by ‘subject’?

Answer 12

that which is being described

Question 13

What is meant by ‘predicate’?

Answer 13

part of the description of the subject

Question 14

What is an analytic statement?

Answer 14

the subject contains the predicate BY DEFINITION

Question 15

What are analytic propositions?

Answer 15

statements which are true by definition

Question 16

What is an example of an analytic proposition?

Answer 16

‘bachelors are unmarried men’, because the word bachelor means unmarried man.

Question 17

Why did Anselm believe the statement ‘God exists’ is analytic?

Answer 17

because the concept of God includes the concept of existence, without existence the term ‘God’ would not apply

Question 18

What is a synthetic proposition?

Answer 18

something which adds to our understanding: goes beyond the definition of something

Question 19

What is an example of a synthetic proposition?

Answer 19

‘the animal is brown’, the concept of an animal does not necessarily mean it is brown, this detail adds to our understanding of the concept

Question 20

Why can deductive arguments be categorised as a priori?

Answer 20

because they are based on logic

Question 21

What was St Anselm?

Answer 21

an Archbishop of Canterbury and Benedictine Monk

Question 22

Why did Anselm create the ontological argument?

Answer 22

to demonstrate the rationality of his own faith. he was not trying to convert believers

Question 23

What is Anselm’s perspective referred to as?
hint: fsu

Answer 23

“faith seeking understanding”. he is attempting to use logic to demonstrate the rationality of faith

Question 24

What is the name of Anselm’s book?

Answer 24

Prosologian

Question 25

Which specific definition of God does Anselm’s argument rely on?

Answer 25

TTWNGCBC.
everyone, including atheists understand God as the pinnacle of everything, you cannot think of anything greater than god

Question 26

What are the 3 steps in which Anselm’s first Ontological Argument can be summarised?

Answer 26

1. God is TTWNGCBC
2. a real and existing being would be greater than an imaginary and illusory being
3. therefore the concept of God is surpassed by an actual existing God

Question 27

According to the Ontological argument, if we have the idea of a God that is TTWNGCBC, then why must this God exist in reality?

Answer 27

because a God who only exists in our head would be inferior to a real god (something we’ve already agreed god cannot be). so God has to exist in order to meet our definition

Question 28

What analogy can be used to support the previous question?

Answer 28

imagining winning the lottery is rubbish compared to actually winning the lottery. god is the same - an imaginary god is nowhere near as good as a real one, and we’ve already agreed that nothing can be better than god

Question 29

But what about things that are better off not existing?

Answer 29

only undesirable things are better off not existing, but God can never be bad or undesirable because his goodness is an aspect of his greatness. it could never be better for him not to exist because he is so great

Question 30

In what 4 steps can Anselm’s second Ontological argument be summarised?

Answer 30

1. god is TTWNGCBC
2. contingent beings are inferior to necessary beings
3. because god is TTWNGCBC, he must have necessary existence
4. therefore god exists necessarily

Question 31

What is Anselm arguing in his second form of the argument?

Answer 31

God must exist because a necessary being cannot fail to exist - only contingent beings can. necessary existence is part of the whole definition of God so it makes no sense to talk of a God who doesn’t exist because then he would not be God

Question 32

Why is Anselm’s second form seen as stronger?

Answer 32

because it focuses on god’s unique nature

Question 33

What are the main similarities between Anselm’s first and second forms of the argument?

Answer 33

• god is TTWNGCBC
• god cant not exist
• predicate - necessary existence

Question 34

What does it mean to call Gaunilo’s argument a reductio ad absurdum?

Answer 34

God is a special case. it means showing something to be false by showing the absurdity it would cause if it were true