The ontological argument essay

Write two full pages :

Present and explain Anselm’s ontological argument, (key concepts, distinctions, pattern of reasoning, etc.)

Explain Gaunilo’s criticism of the ontological argument.

Discuss a possible reply to Gaunilo’s lost-island objection.

With whom do you most agree and why?

St. Anselm St. Anselm (c. 1033-1109)  Abbot of Bec  Archbishop of Canterbury  Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man)  Proslogium  The Ontological Argument purports to be an a priori argument for the existence of God.  . Anselm’s argument was not intended to strengthen his faith, rather it was intended to increase his understanding of God’s nature. However, he realized the potential of using his argument to persuade someone that God exists and that He has certain attributes.  His version discussed here has the form of a reductio ad absurdum.  Ontological Argument Contingent being: a being that actually exists, but could have failed to exist.  Necessary being: a being that exists and could not have failed to exist.  (A so-called) impossible being: one that can be conceived in some sense, but cannot be understood to exist.  Merely possible being: a being that could actually exist, but does not.  Ontological Argument  The following is Anselm’s definition of God.  God=the being than which none greater can be conceived (the greatest possible being) The Ontological Argument  For Anselm, the descriptive phrase “the understanding” is just a way of talking about the realm of possible things, or things that could exist in reality, whether they actually do or not.  Before an artist paints a pre-planned picture, that picture exists in his/her understanding. The painter also understands it to exist after it has been made. The Ontological Argument    Anselm’s doctrine of the two ways in which a thing can be conceived or comprehended in one’s understanding: (1) a thing can be conceived insofar as one understands the meanings of the words that purport to refer to that thing; and (2) a thing can be conceived in itself, in which case it can be conceived to exist in reality. Some things can be conceived in both senses, and some things only in the sense of (1). Ontological Argument To have the quality of existing independently of any one person’s mind, to have the quality of being actual, is to exist in reality.  A painting, once it has been produced, exists in both the understanding and in reality.  The Ontological Argument The being than which none greater can be conceived exists, at least, in the understanding.  Let’s call this being “G.”  The Ontological Argument G exists in the understanding.  Presume that G exists in the understanding alone (G exists in the understanding but not in reality).  However, G can be conceived to exist in reality, also.  A possible entity is greater if it exists in reality than if it doesn’t exist in reality.  The Ontological Argument So, if G exists only in the understanding, then; since G can be conceived to exist in reality as well, G is such that a greater being can be conceived.  In other words, G, the greatest possible being, might have been greater than it happens to be.