An ontological argument is a deductive argument with a priori premises. It was first offered by St. Anslem in the 11th century. St. Anslem was a Benedictine monk, priest and scholar. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to his death in 1109. (Lecture)
The ontological argument aims to prove the existence of God from a priori premises including the definition of God: a being than which no greater being can be conceived. A priori proposition is knowledge that is gained through deduction. According to the definition, God is known to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. The argument above is an example of an ontological argument (Lecture). The argument above states that: the definition of God is a being that we, as humans, cannot …show more content…
This is due to it being invalid. This is proven with Gaunilo’s Perfect Island argument. Gaunilo states that, if we use the same concept as the ontological argument, we can prove that the perfect island exists. If the ontological argument was valid, then it would prove that all sorts of perfect things exist, such as the perfect wife, or the perfect mobile device (Himma). There’s obviously no perfect island. Thus, there’s something that isn’t right with the ontological argument (Mann 417). The ontological argument is analogous to the perfect island argument; therefore, it has to be invalid too …show more content…
But the problem with the ontological argument is that it’s invalid and its premises are unsound. Premise 1 is incoherent because God might not possess the maximal qualities that He needs in order to be “that being than which no greater being can be conceived.” Inferences 3 and 4 cannot be validly reason because if God is infinite then he won’t be able to exist because there’s no complete infinity. Premise 5 is unsound because not everything that exists is perfect, for example: a tornado is better off not being a reality than existing. The ontological argument is also invalid and Gauino proves it with the Perfect Island argument. If the ontological argument was valid, then all perfect things would come to life. The ontological argument fails to prove the existence of God. It is unsound and an invalid
The ontological argument aims to prove the existence of God from a priori premises including the definition of God: a being than which no greater being can be conceived. A priori proposition is knowledge that is gained through deduction. According to the definition, God is known to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. The argument above is an example of an ontological argument (Lecture). The argument above states that: the definition of God is a being that we, as humans, cannot …show more content…
This is due to it being invalid. This is proven with Gaunilo’s Perfect Island argument. Gaunilo states that, if we use the same concept as the ontological argument, we can prove that the perfect island exists. If the ontological argument was valid, then it would prove that all sorts of perfect things exist, such as the perfect wife, or the perfect mobile device (Himma). There’s obviously no perfect island. Thus, there’s something that isn’t right with the ontological argument (Mann 417). The ontological argument is analogous to the perfect island argument; therefore, it has to be invalid too …show more content…
But the problem with the ontological argument is that it’s invalid and its premises are unsound. Premise 1 is incoherent because God might not possess the maximal qualities that He needs in order to be “that being than which no greater being can be conceived.” Inferences 3 and 4 cannot be validly reason because if God is infinite then he won’t be able to exist because there’s no complete infinity. Premise 5 is unsound because not everything that exists is perfect, for example: a tornado is better off not being a reality than existing. The ontological argument is also invalid and Gauino proves it with the Perfect Island argument. If the ontological argument was valid, then all perfect things would come to life. The ontological argument fails to prove the existence of God. It is unsound and an invalid