Ontological argument

Anselm. St. Anselm argued that a perfect being is necessary for existence. His argument is even prior to nature. St. Anselm thought it was impossible for anyone to reason about God or God’s existence without already believing in him. St. Anselm started the Ontological Argument based upon the nature of being. The Ontological Argument states that God is “the greatest being conceivable”. Anselm also said that if we imagine two objects both identical, but one

The ontological argument was thought of by Anselm of Canterbury. It is a priori argument, meaning that it is based on deductions and self propositions. The main issues concerned with the ontological argument is that once you have an idea of what God is in your mind, and what kind of being God is, can you see that it is impossible for God not to exist? Anselm defined God as "that than which nothing greater can be thought". He said that it is logically absurd to think that such a being does not exist

I will begin my paper by discussing the two major versions of the ontological argument by Anselm presented in the proslogion. The first being “Possible and actual existence”, and the second being “Contingent or Necessary”. One should start off with the first summarized in the standard form as follows: #1 It is a conceptual truth that God is a being than which none greater can be imagined. #2 God exists as an idea in the mind. #3 A being that exists as an idea in the mind and in reality is, other

One of the criticisms of the ontological argument is by the monk Gaunilo. Gaunilo tries to use the same concept of Anselm’s argument to refute the claims he made. He tries to use the analogy of “The Perfect Island”. (1) A perfect island is an island after which nothing greater exist. (2)The perfect island exists in the mind. (3)The perfect islands exist in the mind and not in reality and can be conceived to exist. (4)To exist is better than not exist. Therefore, the perfect islands exist. Gaunilo’s

The Ontological Argument The Ontological argument is a group of different philosophers arguments for the existence of God. "Ontological" literally means talking about being and so in this case, that being is the existence or being of God. The main component of the Ontological argument can be found in the Anselm’s "Proslogion" which is a short work that tries to demonstrate both the existence and the nature of God. His main aim in writing the Proslogion is not to directly prove the existence of

The Ontological Argument is a deductive argument in that it endeavors to demonstrate that its premises lead to a logical conclusion which can't be doubted. For this situation, rationalists have endeavored to demonstrate that the expression 'God Exists' is an analytic proclamation in that it is logically incomprehensible for it not to be the situation, generally as it is outlandish for a lone wolf to not be an unmarried man. This sort of argument is known as 'from the earlier' on the grounds that

In the Proslogion written by Anselm of Canterbury, Anselm gives his ontological argument of how God exists. This essay explains that Anselm’s argument of God’s existence works. In particular, I will show that Anselm’s ontological argument makes sense by showing that the statements that logically contribute to the existence of God. In Anselm’s ontological argument, he states that God means something than which greater can be thought. In other words, “God is whatever it is better to be than not

God, but maybe none are as famous as St. Anselm's Ontological argument. The Ontological argument is addressing God, as a prayer. Anselm analyzes the very idea of God to prove that he exists. There are two versions of Anselm's Ontological argument, and both attempt to show that God must exist. Despite the many critics that Anselm faced including Guanilo, and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Ontological argument continues to be one of the most famous arguments for the existence of God that provides support for

St. Anselm's Ontological Argument has remained one of the most widely-known arguments for a Christian God, as well as simply probably the most famous logical proof of all time, since its inception in the late 11th century. The economical proof uses deductive logic starting from basic given premises to lead the reader to what is meant to be the inevitable conclusion that God must, necessarily, exist. The argument's polished simplicity is both a point in favor and a problem, however, for it provides

In this paper, I will deliver a reconstruction of Anselm's Ontological argument for the existence of God, and its adequacy for the existence of the greatest conceivable being. I will establish this by proving that Anselm's premises are sound and that the deductive arguments follow through a valid conclusion. Prior to reconstructing the argument, I will inspect the 'a priori' ontological argument, an argument that is solely justified through reasoning alone and based upon concepts and logical relations