Anselm's Ontological Argument

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Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of god is done via “A Priori” argument. Anselm begins his Chapter 2 argument with his own understanding of God, “I may understand that you exist as we believe you exist, and that you are what we believe you to be. Now we believe that you are something that which nothing greater can be thought.” (Feinberg, p. 30). Anslems understanding of God is a vital part for this argument. Throughout the chapter 2 argument the term “The Fool” is used to refer to those who are atheist. Anselm explains how although “The Fool” may believe there is no God, he certainly understands what he hears when Anselm states his understanding of God. With this the atheist must at very least admit that God exists in his understanding.

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Anselm's Argument For The Existence Of God

existence of God, known as an ontological argument, stated on page 187 in the Living Philosophy textbook. Knowing the meaning of the word God, it can be proved by logic that a supreme being is a reality. To briefly explain his argument; Anselm wanted to prove that God actually exists, because in order to be the greatest possible being you must have to exist not only in understanding, but in reality. In order to defend Anselm’s Ontological you must first know his logical argument that makes it possible and…

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Anslem's Ontological Argument

Anslem`s argument is that if a perfect being can be conjured up in one’s mind through understanding, then that being should be able to exist in reality. His argument is not sound due to the possibility of other things such as perfect islands [1] could also exist if one were to think about the subject being perfect in every way. Some philosophers such as Gaunilo do not refute that god does not exist but that Anslems argument is unsound and that a better argument can be created. Anselm's definition…

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Existence of God Essay example

William Ruiz PHIL 201 Professor Delaney July 22, 2009 Existence of God Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God is that God is the greatest possible being. Anselm’s ontological argument gave meaning to God’s existence. Ontological argument is defined as the existence of God attempts the method of a priori proof, which uses intuition and reason alone. “Anselm defines God by saying God is that “which nothing greater can be conceived.” One way to interpret this phrase is to…

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Blurring the Lines Between Reality And Understanding Essay

17, 2014 PHI 101 Jack Kingston In The Ontological Argument from Proslogion, Chapter II, St. Anselm argues that God must exist in reality through the process of reduction ad absurdum. Perhaps the strongest argument that St. Anselm makes of this claim lies in his idea that God is the greatest thing conceivable, and that in order for this to be true, God must exist in not only one’s understanding, but one’s reality as well. I will prove that this argument is irrational and subjective because it…

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REsearch God Existence Essay

Long Tran Phil 1301 November 25, 2014 Quiz 4: Part II. The traditional arguments for God existence are the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. Begin with two out of five ways of the cosmological argument. The very first one is the way of Motion. According to Aquinas information, the motion is certain, and evident to our sense, that in the world some things are in motion. Now whatever is moved is moved by another, for nothing can be moved except it is in potentiality to that towards…

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Assess The Ontological Argument Strengths And Weaknesses

PHIL1012 Mind and Knowledge Assess the ontological argument for God’s existence. What are it’s main strengths and weaknesses? November 2014 Au Wing Hay (UID: 3035175969) Table of Content Pages 1. St. Anselm’s “The Ontological Argument” 2 2. Strengths 2.1 Easy to be understood 2.2 Logical argument: deductive reasoning and valid 2.3 Failed objection 1: The Perfect Island 2.4 Failed objection 2: The Devil Parody 4 – 6 3. Weakness 3.1 Contradiction in the definition of God 3.2 No empirical…

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Essay 1

three main arguments for the existence of God. These three arguments are the cosmological argument, teleological argument, and ontological argument. Of these three arguments, the ontological argument is the most plausible argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument has been subjected to many criticisms, many of which can be refuted or counter argued. The ontological argument is the most plausible argument for the existence of God for a few reasons. The ontological argument calls for…

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God exist? Essay

October 27th 2014 Does God exist? Descartes’ fifth Meditation argument for God's existence relies on an untenable notion that existence is a perfection and that it can be predicated of God. I shall first explain what Descartes’ argument for God's existence is, and then present his argument in propositional form. I will then attempt to support the argument that existence is neither a perfection nor a predicate of God. In our thoughts we apprehend ideas of things. These ideas may reside entirely…

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Compare And Contrast Anslem Vs. Anselm

about the age of 76 in 1109. Reasoned God's’ existence with ontological argument. Another Philosopher was born later named Thomas Aquinas or Saint Aquinas, born in 1225-1274 (Palmer 2013). He argued over the existence of God, but he had five philosophical arguments called the cosmological arguments. Anslem and Aquinas have two different philosophies, but some comparisons and contrasts exist between the two arguments. While Anselm’s argument comes from a theory of being, Thomas was concerned with observing…

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Essay on Does God Exist?

position when their faith alone was just not enough for them to believe. Humans have a natural instinct to find reasons for events that can't be explained. For some, the existence of God may help provide them the answers they are looking for. The ontological argument proposed by Saint Anselm of Canterbury in 1708 suggests "that than which nothing greater can be conceived", arguing that this could exist in the mind and what exists in the mind, must also exist in reality. "Even when a fool hears of a being…

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