Arguments For God From REASON Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is an ontological argument about?
It is about the concept of existence
ontological arguments claim God‘s existence can be proven a priori (reason)
Who was Saint Anselm?
He put forward the earliest ontological argument
And he writes his first theory in the form of a prayer
What was Anselm’s definition of God?
He wanted to create one that both thesis and atheist can agree with
“ that than which nothing greater can be conceived”
What did Anselm call his first argument and why?
He called it dealing with the fool and is targeted towards atheists
What are the four stages to Anselm first ontological argument?
- God exist as an idea in our imagination
- A being that exists in reality is greater than imaginary being.
- If God only exist in the mind, he would not be the greatest being.
- Therefore, God must exist in reality
Who created a criticism to Anselm’s first argument?
Gaunilo
What was gaunilos main argument
He said that Anselm’s argument would permit anything to be thought into existence
How does Gaunilo explain his argument?
He asked us to consider a mythical lost island which is considered to be perfect. If the island did not exist it would be a contradiction to call it perfect and for the island to be perfect it must exist
he said this is absurd and the perfect island does not exist just like God
Why did Anselm make a second version of his ontological argument?
To answer Gaunilos criticisms
What was Anselm main argument for his second version?
You cannot compare God to an island because an island is contingent whereas God is different as he has necessary existence
What does contingent mean?
Relies on something for his existence such as an island relies on the sea and the earth
What does necessary mean?
It is not relying upon anything.
Cannot NOT exist
What is Anselms steps for his second argument?
It is possible to think of beings that come in and out of existence and to think of beings that have necessary existence.
A necessary being is greater than a contingent being.
Since God is the greatest conceivable being God has the greatest form of existence
God cannot not exist
What is Descartes ontological argument?
- God is a supremely perfect being
- A supremely perfect being contain supremely perfect characteristics
- Existence is an essential characteristic of a supreme perfect being
- God existence is logically necessary therefore God exists
What is a quote from Descartes?
I cannot conceive God without existence
How does Descartes explain his reasoning?
He gives two examples illustrate that existence cannot be separated from the essence of God.
- the existence of a triangle is that it has angles equivalent to 180°. Without this, it is not a triangle
- a mountain cannot be separated from the valley and this is how existence cannot be separated from God
What is similar between Descartes and Anselms argument?
They claim their existence is an essential characteristic of a supreme perfect or the greatest conceivable being
Who is Immanuel Kant
He has the most serious objections to ontological arguments
What is a synthetic and analytic statement?
Synthetic: statements which require external evidence to be proven true or false
Analytic: statements true by definition they contain the truth within the statement
What is Kants first objection?
Statements about existence or synthetic not analytic.
For Kant to prove God’s existence you need synthetic evidence
What is Kants second objection?
Existence is not a predicate
a predicate is the part of a sentence which expands our knowledge and gives more information about the subject.
Saying God exist exists does not add any new knowledge
How does Kant illustrate his point?
He says 100 real silver coins do not have any extra coins to 100 imaginary coins and how the existence of the coins as nothing to the concept of the coins.
In the same way the existence of God has nothing to the concept of God
Who supports Kants objections?
Bertrand Russell
Who are the 2 modern ontological arguments?
Malcolm and Plantinga
