Arguments from Reason Flashcards
(13 cards)
Premises of Anselm’s 1st Ontological argument?
P1: God exists as an idea in our mind
P2: A being that exists in reality is greater than an imaginary being
P3: If God exists only in the mind, he would not be the greatest being
P4: Therefore God exists in reality
Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart that there is no God
What is Gaunilo’s criticisms?
If the perfect Island did not exit, it would be a contradiction to call it the perfect Island. Therefore the perfect Island must exist. This is absurd. There is no evidence of perfect Island’s existing
What is Anselm’s response to Gaunilo?
An Island is contingent. God is necessary. The OA argument only works for necessary beings
Premises of Anselm’s 2nd Ontological argument?
P1: It is possible to think of beings that come in and out of existence (contingent beings), and to think of beings that have necessary existence
P2: A necessary being is greater than a contingent being
P3: Since God is the greatest conceivable being, God has the greatest form of existence (necessary existence).
P4: God cannot not exist
What is Descartes’ ontological argument?
- God is a supremely perfect being
- A supremely perfect being contains supremely perfect characteristics
- Existence is an essential characteristic of a supremely perfect being
- God’s existence is logically necessary. Therefore, God exists
What are Descartes’ illustrations?
The essence of a triangle is that it has angels that add up to 180 degrees. Existence is the essence of God
A mountain cannot be separated from a valley. Existence cannot be separated from God
What are synthetic statements?
Statements which require external (empirical) evidence to be proven true or false
What are analytic statements?
Statements true by definition- they contain the truth within the statement
What is Kant’s first objection?
Statements about existence are synthetic, not analytic. Defining something does not make it exist in reality. Just because we have an idea of God does not mean that God actually exists
What is a predicate?
The part of the sentence that expands our knowledge
What is Kant’s second objection.
Existence is not a predicate. Existence is not a real predicate of God because to say that God ‘’exists’ adds nothing new to our understanding of God
What is Russel’s objection to the ontological argument?
It only appears to prove God’s existence. Anselm’s and Descartes smuggle in the assumption that God exists
