ANSELM: Like Augustine, Anselm used both faith and reason in his investigation for truth. In his view, Faith comes first but reason should follow, giving reasons for what human beings believe. Anselm’s monks asked him to write a model reflection on God in which everything would be proved by reason and nothing on the authority of Scripture. He replied with his “Monologion”. It contains three proofs of the existence of God, all of which are based on Neoplatonic thought.…
The two arguments that I think are the most compelling from this unit are the Ontological Argument, which is a priori argument, meaning before the experience. The other argument that is compelling is the Cosmological argument which is a posterior argument, or after the experience. The Ontological argument cam from Anselm and it states that “it is greater to exist in the mind and reality that just the mind, therefore God must exist” (McGowan). The Ontological argument isn’t about facts about the cosmos, but rather the concept of God. The Cosmological Argument states that “everything that is in motion is moved by something else, and infinite regress is impossible; there must have been a first mover; that first mover being God” (McGowan).…
Descartes fifth Meditation presents the Ontological Argument for God’s Existence. Though many people find Descartes Ontological Argument for God’s Existence to be an unpersuasive and weak argument, I find it is a very strong argument that provides a strong foundation and argument for God’s existence. In this paper I plan to elaborate upon Descartes fifth meditation and slightly over the first and third. After this I will then explain its strong points and weaknesses. I believe Descartes Ontological Argument for God’s Existence in Meditation five to be a strong and persuasive argument.…
Anselm is best known for the arguments he provided in regards to the existence of God. He especially contributed to what today is known as the “ontological argument”, or an argument about the state of existing or being. Anselm provides many reasonable arguments for the existence of God, and had an avid ability to explain reason behind it. Through Cur Deus Homo, he tries to rationalize God’s method for saving the world through Christ’s death as satisfaction, Anselm has been able to offer a significant view and meaning that many Christians today follow by providing a definition for the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross.…
These arguments do come together though to form a strong case for the theistic belief in God. Dr. Mark Foreman suggests using four elements when approaching these arguments. These elements are the best explanation approach, the cumulative approach, the aspect of defeasibility, and the minimalistic concept. The best explanation approach simply implies that God is the best explanation for certain aspects of the universe. This approach is actually used often throughout science to affirm things we cannot see or touch such as electrons and black holes.…
Gaunilo responds to the Ontological Argument by saying that the argument “proves too much”. By this, Gaunilo means that the Ontological Argument could be applied to anything, not just God; even things that we know do not exist. The example that Gaunilo uses is conceiving the most perfect island than which no greater island is possible. The most perfect island must exist in reality and in the mind, because if it did not, then it would be possible to conceive of an island greater than the most perfect island, that is one that actually exists. Therefore, Gaunilo is arguing that by using Anselm’s reasoning, it is better to exist (in the mind and reality) than to not exist, for if it did not exist, it would not be as perfect.…
(2) Some people are epistemically rational for not believing in God. (3) Therefore, God does not exist.” (Cullison, 2010, p. 119).…
Anselm’s Ontological Argument v. Pascal’s Wager In this paper, I will be describing Anselm’s Ontological Argument and Pascal’s Wager and then contrast the differences between the two. These two arguments help to determine the existence of God. There are three norms of belief: ordinary belief, religious belief, and faith seeking understanding. The norms of ordinary belief are based on sufficient evidence to prove it is true.…
In this paper I will dispute that Anselm’s ontological argument is dependent on Anselm’s personal faith in God. My argument lies within the premises that Anselm offers, it would not be rationally acceptable to create content of a maximally perfect being unless the person already accepted the Christian faith. The premises for Anselm’s argument can only be held if the only conception of non greater (relative to his attributes and worldly design) is God but if one does not follow such religious paths how can it be god. So in a sense god wouldn’t exists since you can’t have a mere conception of god without prior experience or impression of him. I will engage this scope of criticism by touching on Humean concepts and conveying how Anselm faith structured…
This is why he starts his argument with the view of the fool; which strengthens his argument. This works well, because we too may question if what we understand is true in reality as well. He takes the part of the fool only believing that God exists in conception, and uses it as the starting point of the proof of God. At first when I recognized the contradiction in Anselm’s writing, I was confused, but as I contemplated his words, his use of a reduction really works for me.…
Anselm’s Ontological Argument Anselm creates the Ontological argument with one primary goal. He claims to succeed in developing an argument of the existence of God without the requirement of actual proof. Anselm 's reasoning and argument only gives a mere opinion on the topic of the existence of God. He formulates a two part hypothesis consisting of: God exists and God has always existed. Anselm’s Ontological argument expresses accusations that are simply in his favor or his outlook on God.…
The Ontological argument, written by philosopher St. Anselm of Canterbury in his book the Proslogion in the eleventh century, is a metaphysical argument for the existence of God in reality. In this essay I will discuss the validity of this argument. In this text Anselm states that the concept of God has the necessary and sufficient condition of being maximally perfect- ‘that than which a greater cannot be thought’- and that, since existing in reality is greater than existing only conceptually, God must exist in reality as well. Thus, if you understand the concept of God, you must agree that he is the greatest and that he exists, since these are written into the framework of the concept.…
The Ontological Argument and Pascal’s Wager The “Ontological Argument” was created by Saint Anselm; this argument is in support of God’s existence. His argument is one based on observation and reason not on empirical evidence and is spit in to three parts. The parts include why god exists, why god cannot be thought to not exist, and lastly why atheists are able to think that God does not exist. In the first section he begins with a definition of God that he believes everyone would be accepting of and that cannot be disputed.…
The Existence of God This argument about the existence of God, better known as the cosmological argument, begins with the late philosopher Aristotle. Similar to a modern day natural scientist, he believed that we could ascertain more about the world and the very fundamental nature of things within our world just by observing and recording. In many ways Aristotle resemble a modern day artist, a person who goes through life experiencing and watching all different types of energy that’s around, visually records this information and help others by spreading this knowledge to the mass. Aristotle too, would look and study the world and its patterns that were around him in order to gain insight into his world.…
The existence of God is always important in the aspect of philosophy. St. Thomas Aquinas explains what he believes is the five reasons god exists. The five reasons he believes why God exist is the Argument from Motion, Efficient Causes, Possibility and Necessity, Gradation of Being, and Design. The definition of God means that which nothing greater can be meant. St. Aquinas is a known philosopher for his discussions of the relationship between faith and the reasons, including the five reasons and proof why God existence is true, while developing Aristotelian doctrines within the church (PBF 42).…