08 Assess whether the ontological argument demonstrates the existence of God. (30 marks)
The ontological argument was first formulated by St. Anselm in the 11th century. It argues the existence of God from a deductive and a priori stance. God is a being than which none greater can be conceived. This is the response given by St Anselm to the fool in the psalm who believed there was no God. St Anselm the Archbishop of Canterbury and of the Benedictine Order explained that for God to exist in the mind he would not be the greatest being. However were God to exist in the mind and reality this would make a being ‘than which none greater can be conceived’, this means God must exist.
This demonstration for the existence of God was
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To evaluate the whole ontological arguments’ attempt to prove and demonstrate God’s existence, it is clear due to the deductive stance, it shouldn’t be argued as the conclusion drawn must be ‘God is a necessary being’, ‘God is a being than which none greater can be conceived’. But as soon as you understand that definition you will find that it could be used to prove the existence of many things and beings. The ontological argument proves the idea that if God exists he is going to be a necessary being, but it does not prove that he actually does exist. Therefore as Richard Dawkins would describe it ‘infinite, playground argument’ and does not demonstrate God’s existence.
REAL MARKS
AO1 - /9
AO2 - / 12
AO3 - / 9
TOTAL - /30.
YOUR MARKS
AO1 - /9
AO2 - / 12
AO3 - / 9
TOTAL - /30.
How could this be improved?
How could we conclude differently?
Are you reassured by this? Does the mark it got make
THE ONTILOGICAL ARGUMENT: A method of proof which uses intuition and reason alone; examines the concept of God, and states if we can conceive of the greatest possible being, then it must exist.
The debate of the existence of God had been active since before the first philosopher has pondered the question. Anselm’s Ontological Argument was introduced during the 11th century and had stood deductively valid until the 18th century. Then there are the arguments to aim disprove God, such as the Argument from Evil.
In Chapter 2 of Anselm's Proslogian, Anselm offers what was later to be characterized as his Ontological Argument, which is an argument for God's existence he felt was so strong that even a fool as is said in Psalms 14:1- "who has said in his heart, 'There is no God'". Anselm's argument is as follows :
Greece has given much to the world and onitnues to impact later generations in terms of Architecture. The acropolis has had a major influence on architecture in following generations. For example the White house in Washington BC is one of the Neoclassical buildings inspired by the Parthenon. The white house is the official resident and workplace of the president of the United States. Both buildings are built in different time periods however they share many similiarities and shows how inspirational the Parthenon was to future architects. Similarites include the built in symmetrical shapen tall columns that rise to the full height of the bulidng. They both have the same influence of design but built in different time periods. Even our very own
The existence and nature of God are topics that have been discussed amongst philosophers throughout time and has resulted in many different opinions of what God is truly like and if He exists as the greatest being in reality. Many different views of this argument are included in John Feinberg and Russ Shafer- Landau’s Reason and Responsibility: Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy which helps to gain a broad perspective on the claims that notable philosophers have made. Specifically, there is The Ontological Argument, from Proslogion by Anselm of Canterbury in which he defends the existence of God using faith and reason. God exists and is so great that nothing greater can be even be thought of.
To begin with, Anselm introduces the Ontological argument as a viral component of the religious aspect of mankind. The presence of a God should not be debated. He portrays this God as an all perfect being that represents the divine concept. He argues that no being is greater than God whether imagined or perceived by the human mind. From the human perspective of divinity, God’s existence is merely an idea of the mind. Even though man’s imagination can present an even higher being than God, it fails to make sense in philosophical principles since it is contradictory. Also, the existence of God can be conceptualized. This means that the senses of man are enough to act as proof of the presence of a being higher and more powerful than him. Philosophy allows for proof to be logical and factual as well as imaginative. From this point, the objection to an idea or imagination such as the existence of God makes his
In the book, The Proslogion, written by Saint Anselm, we find the Ontological Argument. This argument made by Saint Anselm gives us proofs that he believes helps prove the existence of God. Anselm gives many reasons as to why the simple understanding of God can help prove that God himself exists, as well as mentioning how the idea of God cannot be thought not to exist. Though this argument has been looked at by people such as Guanilo, a monk, whose response to Anselm 's proofs was trying to say that there were flaws, there are more reasons as to why Anselm 's proofs work well with his argument. From the understanding of God existing, and the idea behind greatness Anselm 's argument is one that is strong and can work as a proof when trying
The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument is an a priori argument. The arguments attempt to prove God's existence from the meaning of the word God. The ontological argument was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselm's classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes.
The ontological argument can be stated in this way: “God is the greatest being imaginable. One of the aspects of perfection or greatness is existence. Thus, God exists.” Or put another way—“The fact that God can be conceived means that he must exist.”
In the Fifth Mediation, Descartes purports his ontological argument for the existence of God. It is simpler than his first and based on God's essence. For anything else that exists, the essence of that thing only implies it's existence. For God, however, essence
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The Main Points of Anselm's ontological argument (1) God is that than which no greater can be conceived. (2) If God is that than which no greater can be conceived then there is nothing greater than God that can be imagined. Therefore: (3) There is nothing greater than God that can be imagined. (4) If God does not exist then there is something greater than God that can be imagined.
The existence of God is something that most people take for granted. In your upbringing you are taught that God is the most supreme being, the creator of all, infinite and eternal. Taking into account the type of society in which we live in and the fact that it is usually our parents who teach us about God, most people do not even question his existence. Many philosophers who believe in God have tried to prove his existence using many different types of argument. One of these arguments is the ontological argument. It was made famous by the 11th century philosopher Anselm. The ontological argument has three properties: 1. It is an a priori argument. 2. It treats existence as a property. 3. It is
The ontological argument for God’s existence is a work of art resulting from philosophical argumentation. An ontological argument for the existence of God is one that attempts the method of a priori proof, which utilizes intuition and reason alone. The term a priori refers to deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is the type of reasoning that proceeds from general principles or premises to derive particular information. The argument works by examining the concept of God, and arguing that it implies the actual existence of God; that is, if we can conceive of God then God exists. However, this type of argument is often criticized as committing a bare assertion fallacy. The bare assertion fallacy is fallacy in formal logic where a premise
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