Philosophy ( Ontological argument)

Question 1

a prioir so?

Answer 1

uses the premise that God must exist necessarily but uses dedcutive reasoning so uses logic and reason to deduce that God must exist so the conclison must eb guaranteed truth
So if successful the ontolgocal argument should prove the existance of God

Question 2

Anslem bases his argument on?

Answer 2

Psalm 14:1 ‘ Fools say in ther hearts,There is no God’

Question 3

What are the jey steops in Anselm’s argument?

Answer 3

1) If there is ‘soemthing that grater than which cannopt be cpncieved’ i must exist at least in the mind
2) If it exists in the mind, it must also exist in reality sicne anything that exists in both mind and relaity is greater than which soley exists in the mind

Question 4

His arument relies on ‘the real always being?

Answer 4

greater than the imaginary

Question 5

How does Anselm try and prove its impossibke for God not to exist?

Answer 5

What1) assuming you belive in the defintion of a perfect, huighest possible being it would be self-contradictory tto argue he doesn’t exist when as existance is a great-making essential property anyhtuing that does exist would be greater than Him

Question 6

What book for Anselm?

Answer 6

3rd chapter of the Proslogian

Question 7

Critisims of Anselm: Guanilo?

Answer 7

monk

• if you imagine a perfect island ,it must exist otherwise it would be iferior to a less-than-perfect isaldnt hat did exist
• doesn’t meanjust becuase it exists in the mind ti also exists in relaity (reductio ad absurdum)
• can’t berign something into existance just by defining it into a superlative

Question 8

Anselm’s response to Guanilo?

Answer 8

• isaldn is a finite limited thing
  -God is unique not bound by time and space- uniquness is explained by his NECESSARY EXISTANCE
  Perfection dies not extend into the contingnet world

Question 9

How does Anselm argue God’s existance is necessary? [ 2nd ontoligcal rgument]

Answer 9

He argues that if you think of the gretest possibke being in the mind this doesn’t prove its necssary- its jsut possible for it to exist
But Anslem says if its the greatest thing in your mind then it must also be th greatet thing in reality otherwise it wouldn’t eb the greates concievabke being (if you follow the fisr tpart of the argument)
If it therfore came into existance because it has to exist in both mind ad rality to eb the greates conivebale being>if it can come and in and out of time is part of the contingent world and not the greatest possible being
For God to be truly the greatest conivevale being he has to necessariyl exist, already in bith mind and reality eternally

Question 10

What dud Mel Thomson say to support Anslelm’s idea of necessary existance of distinguishing between necessity types?

Answer 10

logical necessity- if ‘God exists’ is an analytical statment (true be definition) then he has to
factual necessity- all beings depend on hsi existance (things wouldn’t be the wy they are without him)- he also must exist

Question 11

Anselm claimes to reduce the counter-argument to God existing by ?

Answer 11

recutio ad absurdum

Question 12

How does Malcom re-enforce Anselm’s argumen?

Answer 12

1) God is the greatest possible being therefore if he does exist he exists necessarily
2) His existanc is either necesaasry or impossible
3) He can’t e a merely possibler necssary being - if he exists he can’t not exist
40 God’s exisantce as impossible is absurd

Question 13

How is Anselm second ontolgixla argmune differnet from his first?

Answer 13

first- God msut exist becuase its greater thabn exisitng in the midn alone
2) argued that God existed NECESSARILY -
2 statemensts- God can be concoved of as not exisitng 2) GOd cannot be concieved as not exisitng- this one is better becuase God cannot move in and out of time (eternal) so its necessary for hik to exist
he impossible for God not to exist necessarily
he can’t be a non-existant contigent like a unicorn
he can’t be a exitant contigent like a human
then he wouldn’t be the greeatest possible being
only solution is for him to be a necessary existant being

Question 14

Why does Aselm argue that GOd must have exostance as a predicate?

Answer 14

God as the greatest possbile being must pocess all great charcteristics and so sice existance is a predicate (essential charctertsic) God must have it
Since existance is part of God’s defintion>God exists is analytic (true b definition)

Question 15

Strenths of Ansem’s arguement?

Answer 15

a priori- more relaibke sice itn uses logic and deductive reasoning (ather than senses) to work out must be a God - conclusion is guranteed truth ebcuase you have the isnticnic belief that God is the greatest possible being
Betetr tha the telogicla argument in soen ways becuase thies releis on emprical evidance it depend on exeperiance/ own conclusions- use inductive reasoning rather than logic so can eb subject to moral relativism

Question 16

Descartes agreed with Anselm and Plato in that..?

Answer 16

a prioir- instrinics knowledge iof a supremy prefect God at brith
Plato0 instrinsic knowkledge (vague) of the world of Forms from birth

Question 17

What did Descartes say about the anaolgy ofna valley?

Answer 17

Existance is part of the essence of God
predicate (perfect charcterisitc/attribute)
like the valley is a essence of a moutnain
Howver he recognised the limitation with thuis anology- finite, limited thing- just because we think of a vlley and mountian combined in our minds doesn’t mean its real

Question 18

What did eh say about existance as a predicate of why God must exist?

Answer 18

Existance is a great essential predicate (perfection) so since God has all the pefect attributes as the most supremely perfect being he must have exisance
As he’s perfect has all the other prediates- omnipotence, omniscience)- he must have existed for all of time s he’s eternally existed

Question 19

How did Descartes liken it to a triangle?

Answer 19

just like 3 sides is instrinsic to the cocneptofa triangle existance is itrinisic to the cocept of God

Question 20

what is Kants critism on God’s necessary existance?

Answer 20

somehting is onkly necessary when it is applied to the truth of propostiions
For Kant a propostion is only true when it is true by defintion, ‘God exists is not’

Question 21

Why did kant belive exiatance was not a predicate?

Answer 21

existance isn’t apredicate’ saying God exists 9suing the word “is”) adds nothing ti the essence of God
Unlike other attributes liek omnipotence or omniscience that do add soehting to the essence of Godn existance doesn’t
If its not a predicate he doesn’t necessariyl have to have it
Uses anology of a hundred real coins and a hundred fake ones- no emoirical (physical) difference, density but although the real ones are obviosuyl woth a lot more but the fact that they are real adds nothing to the essence of the coin

Question 22

Objections to Kant’s critisisms?

Answer 22

Analogy is flawed- fintie limtied, part of the cotnigent world
God necessariyl exists therefore existance does add something to the essence of him (is a predicate)- unique to him becuase he’s not bound by natural laws on earth

Question 23

Counter-responses from Hume?

Answer 23

Weak critisim, doesn;t rate the word ‘necessary’
If I can concive of God not existing then he can’t exist necesarily>if he’s part of the cotnoigne tworld>exiastance doesn’t apply to him
It doesn’t udnermine Ontolgicla argument becuase just if you can concive of somehting not exisitng doesn’t mean it does’t i.e. rivers exist even if i nconcive of them not exisiting

Question 24

Due to its nature the otnoligcl argmune thas the potentiality to be….?
the critisism do not outweugh the..?

Answer 24

conclusive

goodn use of logic without having to rely on anoliges and empirical observations