The Ontological argument for the existence of God

Key philosophers: Anselm, Descartes

Key critics: Kant, Gaunilo

Perfection is……..Design a ‘perfection is…’ cartoon in the style of ‘love is…’ for the following scholars: Plato, Aristotle, Judaeo-Christian

If God was a Mr Man who would he be?

Ontological Argument

• Ontology: the study of being• ‘Ontological argument’ refers to a

number of arguments which all attempt to prove God’s existence from the meaning of the word God.

• Therefore the basis of these arguments depend on one’s understanding of the nature of God.

• It’s all about definitions!

Who was Anselm?

• St Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

• He introduced the argument in his book Proslogion.

• This was known as the ‘Classical Argument’ (as well as Descartes contributions)

• His argument is in two parts…

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• Proslogion 2: ‘God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived’

• Even the unbeliever must have a definition of God in order to dismiss it as a concept.

• Therefore, God exists in the mind.• But, God must exist in reality because he is

‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’.

• i.e. that which exists in reality will always be greater than that which exists purely in intellectu.

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• In his words…• ‘Therefore, Lord, not only are you that

than which nothing greater can be conceived but you are also something greater than can be conceived. Indeed, since it is possible to be conceived to be something of this kind, if you are not this very thing, something can be conceived greater than you, which cannot be done’

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• What do you notice? • What type of argument is this?

• It is an a priori argument• It begins with a proposition and

attempts to prove through logical reasoning that it should not be rejected

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• So, what do you think?

Gaunilo: the most perfect island

• Gaunilo of Marmoutier was a monk• Draw or describe your ‘most perfect

island’ in 5 bullet points

• It must exist because of its perfection!

Gaunilo: the most perfect island

• What do you think Gaunilo’s thinking was?

• Criticising the process by Anselm moves from his definition of God his suggestion of God’s existence

• Surely, could be used to argue anything existed?

• Do you agree?

Gaunilo’s response – does it work?

• While Anselm never compares two things of a like kind, Gaunilo is occupied with comparisons of similarities i.e. islands

• This criticism of Anselm does not work, as it assumes that it is coherent to conceive of an island than which none more perfect can be conceived.

• This is not coherent – you can always add another palm tree or sandy beach

• Plantinga suggests, islands have no intrinsic maximum; that is, they can always be bettered.

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• Put the following words in the correct order:• Conceived• Than• Which• Greater• Be• Nothing• That• Can

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (1)

• Summarise the first part of Anselm’s argument in your own words

• What you think the picture means?

• Be ready to share!!

Anselm’s Ontological Argument (2)

• Proslogion 3: It is possible to conceive of a being, the existence of which is necessary.

• God must be such a being if he is ‘that which nothing greater can be conceived’.

• This is because a being that possesses necessary existence will always be greater than a contingent being.

Descartes ontological argument

• This is to be found in Descartes’ Meditations on Philosophy 5

• Background to his ontological argument:• Meditations 3 – God has placed in every person

the idea of God like a trademark or stamp of a craftsman (think company logo)

• Something can’t be doubted e.g. mathematical truths – this is like God’s existence once it’s clearly been established [difference between factual necessity and logical necessity?]

• This is not about proving the idea of God true but showing there is no reason to ever doubt that God exists [this is what is argument is attempting to do]

Descartes ontological argument

• The nature of triangles is that they have three sides and three interior angles adding up to 180 degrees

• This is incapable of change/being different. It is immutable

• Triangles are what they are – makes no difference if you have an idea of what a triangle is or not

• Even if you had no idea what a triangle is it would still be a shape with three sides

• Three sides are a predicate of a triangle

Descartes ontological argument

• Crucial point = like a triangle God also has an immutable nature

• A triangle’s nature tells us something about the essence of what a triangle is

• According to Descartes, part of God’s nature is that God exists.

• This is immutable; it tells us something about God

• It is a predicate of God

Descartes ontological argument

• Part of God’s essence is therefore existence.• Descartes uses this idea of necessity in

relation to God i.e. Predicates of objects such as triangles cannot be separated from those objects and the concept of God cannot be separated from the predicate of (perfect) existence.

• For Descartes, the essence of God is that God exists and existence is a predicate of God

• Therefore, God exists because existence is a predicate of a perfect being

Descartes ontological argument

• In other words...

• God is a supremely perfect being• A property of perfection is existence• Therefore, God exists

• Existence is a perfection [something that is not lacking in any way including that exists in reality]

Descartes ontological argument

• So how did Descartes develop Anselm’s argument that God’s existence is necessary?

• For the essay – be as specific as you can and don’t forget key terms where possible! 15th December!

Kant’s criticism

• Analytic and synthetic statements… examples from cover work – which is which?

• How is this connected to a priori or a posteriori?

• Does Descartes think “God exists” is an analytic or synthetic statement?

Kant’s criticism

• Kant argues that ‘God has necessary existence.’ Is an analytic statement.

• Attributes of a good RE teacher? What if a candidate was to have all attributes except this one? Explain the link to Kant’s view that existence is not a predicate. SEE SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Something to note…

• Even Aquinas rejects the claims that the existence of God is self evident.

• As God is beyond human understanding, the claim ‘God exists’ is not an analytic statement

• He thinks that the cosmological or design arguments are synthetic arguments that look for evidence to prove God’s existence

• So they’re better!

Evaluate the claim that God’s existence is not a logical necessity (10)