The Ontological Argument Essay - 1446 Words

The Ontological Argument nbsp; The Ontological Argument, put forth by Saint Anselm in his Proslogium, attempts to prove the existence of God simply by the fact that we have a particular concept of God - that God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Saint Anselm presents a convincing argument that many people view as the work of a genius. It is also quite often considered a failure because, in William L. Rowes words, In granting that Anselms God is a possible thing we are in fact granting that Anselms God actually exists. In other words, it assumes the point it is supposed to prove, primarily because is assumes that existence is a great-making quality, and for God to be truly great, he must exist. I†¦show more content†¦A descriptive way to put it is that knowledge is simply belief that we feel safe enough to bet on. If one accepts these definitions, and understands the concepts they stand for, then one can say that Anselm arrives at the decision that he knows that God exists, and cannot be conceived not to exist. And this is as close to the reality of the existence or nonexistence of God that we as humans, relying on our senses and reasoning for knowledge of truth, can actually come to the truth. nbsp; Definitions are the other problem that I must cover, and Anselm also spends considerable time speaking of definitions and how they differ from the understanding, or concept, of something. A definition is the word or words for a concept. There is the tree itself (the truth, or reality), there is our concept of the tree (or our knowledge and beliefs of and about the tree), and there is the word tree and all the words describing our concepts of it, or our definition for the thing we call tree. So, what I am illustrating is that definitions are how we put our concepts into words, and that our concepts are a combination of our beliefs and knowledge of what actually is. nbsp; What Anselm basically states in his argument is that if one truly understands what that than which nothing greater can exist is, and accept it as a possible definition of God, then one must know that God exists (this assumes that existence is a greatShow MoreRelatedThe Ontological Argument By Anselm1524 Words   |  7 Pages I will begin my paper by discussing the two major versions of the ontological argument by Anselm presented in the proslogion. The first being â€Å"Possible and actual existence†, and the second being â€Å"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, otherRead MoreExploring the Ontological Argument1746 Words   |  7 PagesExploring the Ontological Argument For nearly a thousand years, the ontological argument has captured the attention of philosophers. The ontological argument was revolutionary in its sequence from thought to reality. It was an argument that did not require any corresponding experiment in reality; it functioned without the necessity of empirical data. 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The argument works by examining the concept of God, and arguing that it impliesRead MoreDescartes Ontological Argument For The Existence Of God1302 Words   |  6 PagesWord Count: 10/30/2014 Descartes’ Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The Ontological Argument for the existence of God is an a priori argument that aims to demonstrate that God’s real-world existence follows necessarily from the concept of God. In Meditation V of Discourse on Methods and Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes presents his version of the Ontological Argument for the existence of God. In this essay, I will argue that this argument fails because necessary existence forRead MoreAnalysis of Anselms Ontological Argument and the Argument from Evil1448 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis to Anselm’s Ontological Argument and the Argument from Evil 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. The Ontological argument is an a priori deductive argument. That is, an argument relating to being,