Anselm s Ontological Argument On The Existence Of God

Anselm’s Ontological argument sets out to not only prove God’s existence, but to show that God’s existence is self-evident. Similar to other ontological arguments, it uses a priori knowledge to argue its validity, meaning that the propositions made are derived from internal reasoning instead of sense experience. The argument begins with Anselm defining the term God as â€Å"that, than which nothing greater can be conceived† (pg.26). Although simple, once this term is accepted Anselm believes he has successfully proven the existence of God. This becomes clearer with further analysis. If God is a being that, than which nothing greater can be conceived, it naturally follows that God would possess all properties of greatness. An example of this would be omnipotence. Omnipotence would be such a property because it is greater to have ultimate power than to have limited power, therefore, God being the greatest conceivable being would possess the property of omnip otence. Likewise, it is greater for something to exist in both reality and the mind, than to exist only in the mind. Thus, just as omnipotence was ascribed to God so must the property of existence, for if God did not exist, he would be lacking a great making property, and consequently would be only a great being, but not the greatest conceivable being. Existence being am inherent property of God’s essence is why Anselm believes God’s existence to be self-evident. However, as Anselm states â€Å"the fool has said in his heart, ThereShow MoreRelatedValidity And Effectiveness Of Anselm s Ontological Argument On The Existence Of God1095 Words   |  5 Pagesexamining the validity and effectiveness of Anselm s Ontological Argument on the existence of God. I will begin by presenting Anselm’s Ontological Argument from the ground up. This includes the argument, basic idea, initial assumptions, Anselm’s definition of god, and Anselm s distinctions which are needed to completely understand the nature of my argument. Furthermore, I will present concepts of logic and define what makes an argument valid, and circular argument because they are necessary for understandingRead MoreThe Existence Of God : Ontological Argument Essay1696 Words   |  7 PagesThe question of the existence of God has troubled mankind for t housands of years. Many philosophers and theologians have always searched for prove whether God exists. Many of them constructed valid arguments which support theist believes. The existence of God was once never denied, as His presence, His existence was evident in miracles and the people s faith. But time and the advancement of modern science have called God and His very nature into question. The Perfect Being has become the sourceRead MoreThe First Chapter Of Anselm s Argument961 Words   |  4 Pages The first chapter of Anselm s Monologian focuses on Anselm s argument that there is something that is the best, the greatest, the highest, of all existing things. It is through this unknown something that all things possess their goodness. According to the argument he puts forth, the goodness of things in this world must be caused and must therefore stem from one thing that is good, or from many. If goods can be comparable as goods, it follows that there must be some general and uni fied way ofRead MoreExploring the Ontological Argument1746 Words   |  7 PagesExploring the Ontological Argument For nearly a thousand years, the ontological argument has captured the attention of philosophers. The ontological argument was revolutionary in its sequence from thought to reality. 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In the following I will commit myself to the above-mentioned question by firstly reconstructing Anselm ´s proof of God ´s existence an d secondly considering his position in the light of the critiqueRead MoreOntological Argument For The Existence Of God1083 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscuss the argument of Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. His basis of his argument being an analytical breakdown for the reason fot gods exsistence. While also establishing that Anselms inferences found with his use of deduction and logical means to prove the existence of a higher being are indeed true. In addition I will defend Anselms argument by depicting other people’s objections against his argument. Specifically the argument made by Gaunilo, who disagreed with Anselms argumentRead MoreThe Arguments For The Existence Of God1056 Words   |  5 Pages16 November 2015 Rough Draft for The arguments for the Existence of God. The question Does God Exist? is a well-known asked question in the world. Most people believe they know the answer to it. The religious people would say, well of course he does, while the non-religious people or atheist would say no He does not exist. Because evil exist and chaos exists, God cannot be all-powerful. In the modern world, there are many different opinions as to whether a God exists or not. This has been an issueRead MoreThe Argument Of The Existence Of God1480 Words   |  6 PagesThe arguments trying to â€Å"prove† the existence of God are by far some of the most controversial philosophical arguments out there. When some of the people who created these philosophies it was illegal or even punishable by death to even question his existence, let alone try to come up with a logical explanation to â€Å"prove† he is real. The two main arguments used today are the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. 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The Ontological Argument is an a priori or deductive argument. An a priori argument does not have to be supported by real or factual evidence just by reason without observation. Thus, the Ontological Argument is not reliant on an a posteriori premise. An a posteriori argument