Ontological argument

the two different arguments provided by two different philosophers regarding the metaphysical and science. John Polkinghorne’s ontological argument and Richard Dawkin’s unwavering belief of evolution. Although I believe Polkinghorne’s argument to be undeniably incorrect. I plan to present the strongest evidence for both arguments in an attempt to ultimately see which one is most viable. I may add supporting claims from other philosophers throughout the text to reinforce my argument. While…

time the way we perceive this theory can affect how we view the world and how we behave. Therefore, to discuss this topic there are three major arguments that attempt to show the existence of God. They are known as ontological argument, cosmological argument and theological argument. The first argument is known as ontological argument. This type of argument tries to show that God exists by having three traits. The first one is omnipotent, which states that God has every possible power. The…

In the Seventeenth Century many philosophers were enlightening the world with their various views and ontological arguments. Baruch Spinoza was no different. Spinoza was born in 1632 in Amsterdam and grew up in a Jewish community where he was led to be a rabbi. At the age of twenty-four he was banned from his community for his radical views and was also later banned from a Christian community for those same opinions (Nadler, “Baruch Spinoza”). Spinoza came to be influenced and well educated in…

Thus, a being more perfect than himself must exist to create him, and to put the innate idea of a perfect being into his intellect. Equally, the existence of God is proven through the Ontological Argument: God’s existence cannot logically be thought of as separate from his very essence. To do so would be to think of God as less than perfect because of a being lacking existence is not perfect. Therefor in order for God to be the perfection that…

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.…

St Anselm’s ontological argument is based on the premise that God exists through analysis of nature, existence and reality (Ajkin & Hodges 116). A proper understanding and analysis of nature reveals that there is a system that was properly constructed to ensure inter-dependence and correlation. A slight change in one aspect of nature would have led to completely different results. This means that there was and still is a supernatural being that ensures that everything interacts in accordance to…

An ontological argument is an a priori demonstration of the existence of God. Perhaps one of the most famous ontological arguments presented was by St. Anselm (1033-1109) who was an Archbishop of Canterbury and Abbot of Bec. He presented his argument in his book Proslogion. Anslem’s expectation for his argument was for it to help him understand the nature of God, and possibly persuade a non-believer of the existence of God. First, Anselm describes his way of classifying unknown things as…

In the piece of Ontological Argument, St. Anselm argues that being able to exist in both reality and in understanding is the best to humans. He specifically focuses on the topic of an omnient God. He does use a reducto in his argument, so part of the premises contradict, but this contradiction strengthens the proof for the conclusion. I agree with his point of view. St. Anselm refers back to the difference between conceiving in concept vs in realty, all though out his writing. With an example…

specifies God in a vague manner making it difficult to understand, at first, what he is talking about. Also, I will discuss whether or not it is possible for there to be something that is greater than God himself. In Anselm’s text, “On the Ontological Argument,” he starts by saying that something than which nothing greater can be thought could be an idea or an understanding. He explains how something than which nothing greater can be thought “cannot be nonexistent even in thought.” (132). To…

Trinitarian Theology The debate of God’s existence seems as infinite as God Himself. Augustine’s remarks are foundational to the ontological argument of God’s existence: For when the one supreme God of gods is thought of, even by those who believe that there are other gods, and who call them by that name, and worship them as gods, their thought takes the form of an endeavor to reach the conception of a nature, than which nothing more excellent or more exalted exists…All, however, strive…