1E: Developments of the Ontological Argument Flashcards
Who was Descartes?
- mathematician
- scientist
- philosopher.
Who was Descartes influenced by?
Plato and Anselm
Descartes believed people were born with innate ideas, what does this mean?
there are some concepts which are imprinted on our minds by birth and are shared universally by all of humanity. concepts such as shapes and numbers were understood by us from birth, and we are also born with an understanding of what God is
What did Descartes understand God to be?
‘a supremely perfect being’, possessing all perfections (omni..)
What analogy did Descartes use?
the triangle
- all have 3 angles that add up to 180 degrees, part of the essence of a triangle
- if i told you i had drawn a triangle with 5 angles adding up to 284 degrees you would disagree because by definition this shape is not a triangle
According to Descartes, why must God possess existence?
because he possesses all perfections, if you think of perfections as a checklist then ‘existence’ must be one. something cannot be labelled ‘perfect’ if it doesn’t not exist. therefore God must possess existence.
How did the Greek philosophers that Descartes was inspired by influence his OA?
many Greek philosophers believed that to change was to be imperfect, perfection only came through by being unchanging. so for god to be perfect he cannot change because this leads to imperfection
What is a 5 step summary of Descartes’ argument?
- we understand God as a ‘supremely perfect being’
- a supremely perfect being must contain all perfections
- existence is a perfection
- so God must possess existence
- therefore God exists necessarily
What was Malcolm’s ontological argument?
- if God doesn’t exist today, he never can and never will, his existence must be impossible
- if God does exist he must exist necessarily
- God’s existence is therefor either impossible or necessary
- God’s existence is not impossible. it is not logically contradictory to have the concept of a God who exists
- so given that his existence is not impossible, it must be necessary - so God exists necessarily
Did Malcolm believe existence was a predicate?
No
Why did Malcolm believe Descartes’ argument is logically flawed?
because existence is not a predicate
Although Malcolm knew the argument would not convince atheists, why did he believe the argument was still worthwhile for believers?
because believers would understand the necessity of god’s existence
Why was Malcolm’s argument not widely accepted?
because it can be said that there can be things that do not exist without their existence being impossible. it is not illogical to say ‘maybe there is a god, maybe there isn’t’
What does Barth say about the ontological argument?
it should be read as an exploration of faith rather than proving god’s existence
