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.…
To another individual, God may exist simply because of the evidence around them. I think the existence…
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.…
His argument states that God is the most perfect thing possible. After defining god as the greatest conceivable thing he asks “what is greater god as an idea or god as an existing thing?” if it is agreed that existing is always better than not existing god as an existing being is greater than god as an idea, therefore god must exist as if god is just an idea then he is not the most perfect conceivable thing. God must exist by…
In order to prove the existence of God, Descartes comes to several conclusions which are essential to his argument. He firstly restates that everything he clearly and distinctly perceives is true and that God is not a deceiver as he is perfect and has no flaws, and, a deceiver, must have flaws. He says that we have an innate idea of God as an infinite being and that God must have the most infinite objective reality. Descartes also argues that since his existence “keeps going”, something must be maintaining…
In order for a God to be supremely perfect, he must have be divine in power, omnipotent, and possess all attributes in absolute perfection. The critical part of this argument is that God has perfection in all things, included in these perfections is existence. For if God were to lack existence, he would be lacking in some aspect, and not possess true perfection, for it is greater to exist than to not exist. Therefore, in order for God to be perfect, and to be all powerful, existence is a necessary part of him.…
In this paper I will argue that St. Anselm’s ontological argument is not adequate in proving the existence of God. First I will discuss his ambiguous use of the term “God”. Then, I will move on to analyze the term “greatest” made in his premises. Lastly, I will also criticize Anselm's argument by demonstrating that Anselm’s reply to Gaunilo’s objections are unconvincing. Anselm was the first one who developed the ontological argument, an argument for God’s existence based on reason, not on physical evidence.…
Anselm bases his argument on the hierarchy of being, at the bottom of the hierarchy is elements and at the top is God. This idea of that than which nothing greater can be thought or simplified as TTWNGCBT, exists in a person’s mind as well as in the world as a tangible item. Existing in a person’s mind is equivalent to existing in their understanding and existing as a tangible item is equivalent to existing in reality. An example of these two existences is a painting, the painting exists in the painter’s mind, and then inevitably it is put on a canvas where it is visible for all of the world to see. Anselm explains that it is better for TTWNGCBT to exist in both understanding and in reality, than in just understanding, but he does not back up this claim.…
His definition is “something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought” (Pg.15) or in simpler terms the greatest conceivable being. Anselm uses reductio ad absurdum to prove that the contrary to his belief would be absurd.…
“A substance that is infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful” (30). This is his idea of what “God” means to him. But if every idea has a formal reality, where did he get this idea from? God must be the cause of this idea therefore God does exist.…
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.…
“God is that which no greater can be conceived” is a statement that rules out any credible support other than from Anselm own Christian devotion. Anselm makes this evident when he states “I may understand that you exist as we believe you to exist, and that you are what we believe you to be” (Anselm, 7) this means that Anselm alone doesn’t know the clear nature of God but he is able to make simple inferences for this proof. So how can we come to know that God is none greater than can be conceived if we are designating our own definition of a maximally perfect being. Anselm portrays that God can be known solely from reasoning in thoughts rather than from impression of god himself in our knowledge.…
It does not prove that this being has all the other attributes that allow us to recognize God”. (Introducing Philosphy. Pg 140). Another key point that could prove these arguments wrong is the fact that infinite regress is possible. If infinite regress is possible…
CHRISTIANITY Claim Transcendence is the belief that a divine realm exists outside of the universe. It is the belief that there is one God, you have a soul, and after death you go to Heaven or Hell. Christianity is one of the religions that was formed out of this belief. Christianity claims that Jesus, God the Son, came to earth to reveal the Father to us and then save us from our sins by dying on the cross about 2,000 years ago.…