The Ontological Argument

Question 1

What is the Ontological argument?

Answer 1

An argument for the existence of God created by St Anselm in 1077 AD

Known for its focus on the nature of being and existence.

Question 2

What does ontology refer to?

Answer 2

‘Being’ or ‘existing’ or the nature of being / what exists.

Question 3

Why has the Ontological argument been controversial?

Answer 3

Many critics, including religious ones, doubt its validity.

Question 4

What is a priori reasoning?

Answer 4

Reasoning based solely on analysis of concepts, not empirical evidence.

Question 5

What is a strength of a priori arguments for God’s existence?

Answer 5

They cannot be undermined by new scientific evidence.

Question 6

What type of argument is the Ontological argument?

Answer 6

Deductive.

Question 7

What are the premises of St Anselm’s Ontological argument?

Answer 7

P1. God is the greatest conceivable being
P2. It is greater to exist in reality than in the mind alone
P3. God exists in the mind
C1. Therefore, God exists in reality.

Question 8

What analogy does Anselm use to illustrate his argument?

Answer 8

The analogy of a painter who has an idea before painting it in reality.

Question 9

What does Anselm point to in Psalm 14:1?

Answer 9

‘The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’.’

Question 10

What is the implication of an atheist’s denial of God according to Anselm?

Answer 10

An atheist at least has an idea of God in their mind.

Question 11

What does Anselm argue about God’s existence in the mind?

Answer 11

God cannot be an idea that exists in the mind alone; it leads to a contradiction.

Question 12

What does Anselm conclude about necessary existence?

Answer 12

God is a necessary being whose existence does not depend on anything else.

Question 13

How does Malcolm interpret Anselm’s term ‘greater’?

Answer 13

Referring to whether a being is limited and depends on something else for existence.

Question 14

What is the significance of a necessary being?

Answer 14

Its nonexistence is impossible, making it greater than a contingent being.

Question 15

What is Gaunilo’s objection to Anselm’s argument?

Answer 15

He argues that the greatest conceivable being cannot exist in the mind alone.

Question 16

What analogy does Gaunilo use to critique Anselm?

Answer 16

The analogy of a perfect lost island.

Question 17

What is the ‘overload’ objection?

Answer 17

It suggests that reality would be overloaded with greatest/perfect things.

Question 18

How does Anselm respond to Gaunilo’s critique?

Answer 18

He insists that his argument can only prove the existence of God, not contingent beings.

Question 19

What does Descartes aim to do with the Ontological argument?

Answer 19

Strengthen it through rationalist epistemology.

Question 20

What is Descartes’ deductive argument structure?

Answer 20

P1 – I have an idea of a supremely perfect being which contains all perfections
P2 – Existence is a perfection
C3 – God exists.

Question 21

What is Hume’s stance on a priori demonstrations of existence?

Answer 21

He rejects them and the concept of a ‘necessary being’.

Question 22

What is Hume’s fork?

Answer 22

The distinction between analytic and synthetic truths.

Question 23

What does Hume argue about the Ontological argument?

Answer 23

There is an evident absurdity in attempting to demonstrate a matter of fact a priori.

Question 24

What do analytic truths depend on?

Answer 24

They are true by definition.

Question 25

What do synthetic truths depend on?

Answer 25

They are true because of the way the world is.

Question 26

What is a key critique of the Ontological argument according to Gaunilo?

Answer 26

The argument does not prove that God exists necessarily.

Question 27

What does Anselm's argument imply about God's nature?

Answer 27

God's existence is a necessary existence.

Question 28

What does a posteriori reasoning involve?

Answer 28

Experience of the factual state of the world.

Question 29

According to Hume, what can only be known a posteriori?

Answer 29

Synthetic truths.

Question 30

What is Hume's stance on demonstrating matters of fact?

Answer 30

There is an evident absurdity in pretending to demonstrate a matter of fact a priori.

Question 31

What does Hume claim about our ability to conceive of existence?

Answer 31

We can conceive of the non-existence of something we formerly conceived to exist.

Question 32

What conclusion does Hume reach about necessary existence?

Answer 32

The words 'necessary existence' have no meaning.

Question 33

What does Hume argue about beliefs regarding existence?

Answer 33

Any belief we have about what exists could be imagined as either true or false.

Question 34

How does Hume differentiate between logical and factual truth?

Answer 34

The term 'necessary existence' seems to ignore the disconnect established by Hume’s fork.

Question 35

What type of propositions are existential propositions?

Answer 35

Always synthetic.

Question 36

What is Kant's objection regarding existence as a predicate?

Answer 36

Existence is not a property a thing possesses.

Question 37

How do Descartes and Anselm view God's existence?

Answer 37

They argue that denying God's existence denies what God is.

Question 38

What does Kant argue about existence as a predicate?

Answer 38

If existence were a predicate, a thing that exists would be conceptually different from that same thing when not existing.

Question 39

According to Kant, what does existence not describe?

Answer 39

A feature of the thing itself.

Question 40

What is the implication of Kant's example of 100 thalers?

Answer 40

The concept '100 thalers' is the same whether in the mind or instantiated in reality.

Question 41

What does Kant argue about Anselm and Descartes' claims regarding God?

Answer 41

They seem incorrect when claiming it’s incoherent to think of the greatest being not existing.

Question 42

What is Malcolm's version of the ontological argument?

Answer 42

God is an unlimited being whose existence is either necessary or impossible.

Question 43

What are the premises of Malcolm's ontological argument?

Answer 43

* P1: God either exists or does not exist. * P2: If God exists, God's existence is necessary. * P3: If God does not exist, God's existence is impossible. * P4: The concept of God is not self-contradictory.

Question 44

What does Malcolm conclude about God's existence?

Answer 44

Therefore, God exists necessarily.

Question 45

What is Kant's objection to necessity implying existence?

Answer 45

It only shows that if God exists, then God exists necessarily.

Question 46

What does Malcolm argue against Kant's critique?

Answer 46

The proposition 'God is a necessary being' is not equivalent to 'If God exists, then He necessarily exists.'

Question 47

What is the significance of the ontological argument according to Malcolm?

Answer 47

It shows that God is a being characterized by the impossibility of non-existence.

Question 48

What is Hartshorne's stance on the ontological argument?

Answer 48

If one accepts the logical coherence of a being which contains the impossibility of non-existence, one must accept that it necessarily exists.

Question 49

What is Hick's position regarding the ontological argument?

Answer 49

He argues that God could be ontologically necessary without being logically necessary.

Question 50

What philosophical debates challenge the coherence of God?

Answer 50

* The paradox of the stone. * The Euthyphro dilemma. * The incompatibility of free will and omniscience. * The logical problem of evil.

Question 51

What do modern defenders of the ontological argument agree on?

Answer 51

The argument can at most show that if God is logically possible, then God necessarily exists.

Question 52

What is the conclusion of Malcolm's argument regarding God's existence?

Answer 52

God is either logically impossible or logically necessary.

Question 53

What does the ontological argument show regarding God's existence?

Answer 53

If God is logically possible, then God necessarily exists ## Footnote This argument hinges on the concept of logical possibility.

Question 54

What does Malcolm’s version of the ontological argument incorporate?

Answer 54

The dependence of God’s logical possibility as a premise ## Footnote This version builds upon traditional arguments by emphasizing logical structure.

Question 55

What is Plantinga's view on the ontological argument?

Answer 55

It can make religious belief rational but cannot prove God's existence ## Footnote Plantinga acknowledges limitations in proving existence while supporting rational belief.

Question 56

What does Plantinga state about accepting the central premise of the ontological argument?

Answer 56

It is rational to accept the central premise, thus rational to accept the conclusion ## Footnote This indicates a level of philosophical acceptance without definitive proof.

Question 57

What does Plantinga admit about the belief in God's existence?

Answer 57

It is rational to believe that God's existence is logically impossible ## Footnote This presents a dual rationality in belief systems concerning God.

Question 58

According to Plantinga, what can be concluded if a being whose non-existence is impossible could exist?

Answer 58

Then it must exist ## Footnote This is a key component of the ontological argument's logic.

Question 59

What was Anselm’s initial insight regarding God's existence?

Answer 59

If God is even conceivable, then God must exist ## Footnote This foundational idea forms the basis of the ontological argument.

Question 60

Complete the statement: 'If a being a greater than which cannot be conceived, can even be conceived, it must ______.'

Answer 60

[exist] ## Footnote This quote encapsulates Anselm's argument and its implications.