Ontological argument, argument that proceeds from the idea of god to the reality of god. Anselm claims to derive the existence of god from the concept of a being than which no greater can be conceived. Now we believe that you are are something than which nothing greater can be thought. Anselm ontological argument san jose state university. For those of us unfamiliar with it, it was created by st. Anselm starts with an idea that depends on experience for their justification and then proceeds by purely logical means to the conclusion that god exists. One of the first to formulate the ontological argument was st. Even a fool, when he hears of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived understands what he hears, and what he understands is in his understanding. Ontological argument criticisms introduction to philosophy. Gaunilo raised an objection to the ontological argument on the grounds that anselms argument can be altered to prove the existence of any concept simply by using the definition that the concept is greater than all other concepts. The ontological argument is widely thought to have been first clearly articulated by st. Anselm, the archbishop of canterbury, who lived in the late eleventh century.
The honor of being the first to present this argument fully and clearly belongs to saint anselm of canterbury 10331109. We saw in our discussion of anselm that anselm was trying to provide a reductio ad absurdum of the atheists position, by showing that the supposition that god does not exist in reality leads to an absurdity. Speaks january 6, 2006 1 anselms presentation of the argument anselms argument begins with a statement of what god is. Matthews and lynne rudder baker the ontological argument in anselms proslogion ii continues to generate a remarkable store of sophisticated commentary and criticism. Anselmss ontological argument is stated, and a few standard objections to his argument are listed. His rejection of the ontological argument caused other catholic theologians to also reject the argument. Thomas aquinas in the th century, it was revived in the 17th century by rene des.
Anselm, descartes, critics, and a contemporary defense luke arredondo ht 503 medieval theology 27 april 20 arredondo 1 while studying philosophy as a part of my undergraduate seminary formation, i first encountered the ontological argument of st. The argument is in a line of development that goes back to anselm of canterbury 10331109. Anselm s argument in proslogion 2 was a reflection or prayer rather than a formal piece of. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god anselms argument is an a priori argument. There are excerpts the works of philosophers who tackled the ontological proof for gods existence, in their own words, with little editorial guidance. One of the famous arguments for the existence of god is the ontological argument. A with an introduction, bibliography, and reprints of the opinions of leading philosophers and writers on the ontological argument, chicago, the open court publishing company, 1903, reprinted 1. Perhaps one of the most famous ontological arguments presented was by st. But, anselm notes, this fool must surely at least be able to understand. In chapter 2 of anselms proslogian, anselm offers what was later to be characterized as his ontological argument, which is an argument for gods existence he felt was so strong that even a fool as is said in psalms 14. Anselms proslogion ii and iii dennis sansom samford university saint anselms argument in proslogion ii and iii has continuing relevance for philosophers and. Anselm then imagines a character, the fool, who denies that god exists. Pdf this paper presents the special issue on formal approaches to the.
And, as is well known, of all the versions of the ontological argument, it is anselm s argument for gods existence that stands out the most. The first, and bestknown, ontological argument was proposed by st. Anselms ontological argument is certainly one of the most audacious arguments in the history of western philosophy. Essay anselm s ontological argument 1281 words 6 pages.
Subsequently, the role of his passion and his ardent desire. The ontological argument for the existence of god i. This entry is a good place to start for clarification of the above notes to the argument. Anselms ontological argument 14 therefore, lord, you who give knowledge of the faith, give me as much knowledge as you know to be fitting for me, because you are as we believe and that which we believe. About the work although anselm s argument for gods existence presented in this article is based on predominately on reason, anselm presents the argument as clari. My aim is to demonstrate that the significance of this. Anselms reasoning was that, if a being existed only in the mind but not in reality, then a greater being was conceivable a being which exists both in the mind and in reality. Anselm starts with an idea that depends on experience for their justification and then proceeds by purely logical means to. Anselm of canterbury 10331109 was a neoplatonic realist and was often called the second augustine.
Then, anselms ontological argument in its basic form will be examined as an example of the use of reason in seeking understanding. Aquinas reasoned that, as only god can completely know his essence, only he could use the argument. God, by definition, is that for which no greater can be conceived. The ontological argument is the attempt to prove, simply from an examination of the concept of god, that the being to which that concept would apply must in fact exist. Jan 10, 2006 gaunilo, a monk who was a contemporary of st. Saint anselm, archbishop of canterbury 10331109, is the creator of the ontological argument. He is most famous for his ontological argument, which is one of the most famous proofs for the existence of god in proslogium, as well as for his argument for satisfaction atonement in cur deus homo trans. Anselm s ontological argument, in its most succinct form, is as follows. It attempts to prove the existence of god using pure logic, and runs something like this and kindly correct me if i get it wrong god is defined as the greater. Anselm, archbishop of cantebury 10331109, is the originator of the ontological argument, which he describes in the proslogium as follows. A more recent ontological argument came from kurt godel, who proposed a formal argument for gods existence. An ontological argument is an a priori demonstration of the existence of god. Anselms versions of the ontological argument descartes is not the first philosopher to state this argument. To put it simply, modal logic is a type of logical argumentation that uses words like possible and necessary to.
Anselm s proof, known since the time of kant as the ontological argument for the existence of god, has played an important role in the history of philosophy and has been incorporated in various forms into the systems of descartes, leibniz, hegel, and others. Essay on anselms ontological argument 1217 words bartleby. Criticises an argument which somehow descends from st. Having receded from the forefront of intellectual thought after being refuted by st. For anselm, mental things that have existenceintheunderstanding exist just as much as nonmental things that have existenceinreality, but in a different way. One must read gingerly through the ontological argument from st. Anselm began with the concept of god as that than which nothing greater can be.
Anselms argument together with gaunilos, aquinas and kants objections are conveniently summarized by kenneth einar himma in the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Explain anselms ontological argument essay example graduateway. Anselms ontological argument alleges that god exists is a statement that, if we are thinking clearly and understand the definition of god, we can know to be true. Third, it is inconceivable that one and the same thing could have both existenceinreality and existencein the understanding. Anselms ontological argument is an a priori proof of gods existence.
Nselms ontological argument is an ad hominem argument against the foole, part of which is a reductio ad absurdum, designed to prove the existence of god. For anselm, mental things that have existencein the understanding exist just as much as nonmental things that have existenceinreality, but in a different way. I have shown that they key criticisms of the argument, by both kant and gaunilo can both fail and thus from my assessment, i resolve that it is possible to save anselms ontological argument from its criticisms. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. It was critized and somewhat ambivalently rejected by thomas aquinas. He is best known for the celebrated ontological argument for the existence of god in the proslogion, but his contributions to philosophical theology and indeed to philosophy more generally go well beyond the ontological argument. And cur deus homo, translated from the latin by sidney norton deane, b.
The form of the argument is that of a reductio ad absurdum argument. About the work although anselms argument for gods existence presented in this article is based on predominately on reason, anselm presents the argument as clari. Saint anselm 10331109 proslogion translated by sidney norton deane preface after i had published, at the solicitous entreaties of certain brethren, a brief work the monologion as an example of meditation on the grounds of faith, in the person of one who. I shall take it for granted that the connection between what i call ontological arguments and traditional presenta tions of the ontological argument there is, of course, no one argument that can be called the ontological argument is plain. The origins of the ontological argument are usually seen in the writings of st anselm of canterbury. Oct 10, 2010 hello all, does anyone know of ways in which the ontological argument can be rebutted and how those rebuttals can be replied. Anselm, who claims that once we understand the nature of god as a being than which nothing greater can be conceived, we realize that his essence implies his existence. Ontological argument for gods existence one of the most fascinating arguments for the existence of an allperfect god is the ontological argument.
Saint anselm 10331109 proslogion translated by sidney. Anselm presents a philosophical argument for the existence of god. Anselm means when he writes there is only one way god can be. One might put the argument in other words, and argue that god. Essay anselms ontological argument 1281 words 6 pages. The relevance of kants objection to anselms ontological. Ontological arguments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Alvin plantinga challenged this argument and proposed an alternative, based on modal logic. He has two versions of it, and they are the most widely discussed among the many versions of this argument. Anselms argument in proslogion 2 was a reflection or prayer rather than a formal piece of.
Anselm 10331109 was archbishop of canterbury and wrote many influential works, including his proslogium, monologium and cur deus homo. The paper examines the way in which faith seeking understanding, the ontological argument, and the derivation of the divine attributes from the original formula in the proslogion repeat this pattern of yielding conclusions which are. This argument strikes many people as unconvincing, but difficult to refute. This is an a priori argument for the existence of god. Anselm, offered an early and influential reply to the ontological argument. Saint anselms ontological argument is distinctive from other arguments that attempt to prove that it is the existence of god, the creator, and not just some abstract entity that is being defined. St anselm was the originator of the ontological argument. The paper examines the way in which faith seeking understanding, the ontological argument, and the derivation of the divine attributes from the original formula in the proslogion repeat this pattern of yielding conclusions which are both necessary and paradoxical. Anselm 10331109 who was an archbishop of canterbury and abbot of bec. However, in our opinion, much of this literature ignores or misrepresents the elegant simplicity of the original argument. Anselm s ontological argument is certainly one of the most audacious arguments in the history of western philosophy. Anselms proof, known since the time of kant as the ontological argument for the existence of god, has played an important role in the history of philosophy and has been incorporated in various forms into the systems of descartes, leibniz, hegel, and others. Anselm reasoned that, if such a being fails to exist.
Saint anselm of canterbury 10331109 was the outstanding christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century. Anselm developed a controversial a priori argument for the existence of god. Anselm, who claims that once we understand the nature of god as a being than which nothing greater can be. Anselm of canterbury, who defined god as the greatest conceivable being.
Original german text available online, 628 kb pdf file, maintained by alain. Anselm of canterburys ontological argument the postbarthian. Third, it is inconceivable that one and the same thing could have both existenceinreality and existenceintheunderstanding. The ontological argument would be meaningful only to someone who understands the essence of god completely. Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists. Anselms ontological argument, in its most succinct form, is as follows. Our new method, which we call computational hermeneutics, has been. Explain anselms ontological argument essay example. Anselm himself views as both necessary and paradoxical. Norman malcolm revived the ontological argument in 1960 when he located a second, stronger ontological argument in anselms work. Anselm, descartes, critics, and a contemporary defense luke arredondo ht 503 medieval theology 27 april 20 arredondo 1.
Moreover, anselms argument was shown to be a valid argument, with a conclusion that follows from the premises. Anselms argument rests on the idea that god, by definition, is that than which none greater can be conceived and that this definition, when used in a proof created by anselm, proves gods existence. In this paper i argue, against plantinga and others, that kants claim is indeed relevant to anselms argument, in the straightforward sense that if the claim is true, then anselms argument is unsound. Ontological argument for the gods existence internet. As clearly as possible, restate anselms ontological argument. Hello all, does anyone know of ways in which the ontological argument can be rebutted and how those rebuttals can be replied. In chapter 2 of anselm s proslogian, anselm offers what was later to be characterized as his ontological argument, which is an argument for gods existence he felt was so strong that even a fool as is said in psalms 14. Pdf in this article i offer a new interpretation of saint anselms ontological argument.
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