Weaknesses of the ontological argument. Weaknesses of Descartes' Arguments Essays 2019-01-07

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The Ontological Argument

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Anselm assumes that the greatest being that can be concieved of must exist outside the mind otherwise it is not the greatest being one can concieve of. Chesterton: So one elephant having a trunk was odd; but all elephants having trunks looked like a plot. Kant questions the intelligibility of the concept of a necessary being. It was not intended to be serious; rather, its purpose was to illustrate the problems Gasking saw in the ontological argument. When the need is for you to make yourself available to God. Descartes and Locke do not provide the same answers to this question. If the statement is true, then it is a truth and truth exists.

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What are the strengths of the Ontological Argument for God's existence

weaknesses of the ontological argument

It deals with knowledge gained independently of experience, innate knowledge. Why is God the exception to the rule? The no devil corollary is similar, but argues that a worse being would be one that does not exist in reality, so does not exist. Another issue with Descartes' philosophy Also, it is wrong to think that just because we can reason clearly that a non-deceiving God must be allowing us to do so. The Proslogion consisted of two main parts. Rethinking the ontological argument: a neoclassical theistic response. He stated that he exists, and in his mind he has the concept of a perfect being, and as an imperfect being, he could not have conjured up the idea of a perfect being, therefore this idea must have originated from the perfect being itself, and this perfect being must exist in order to be perfect, consequently a perfect being exists. Therefore, the Lost Island exists in reality.

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Ontological argument

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Thus, if Ω exists only as an idea in the mind, then we can imagine something that is greater than Ω that is, a greatest possible being that does exist. He claims that things can be self-evident in two ways: in itself and both in itself and to us; even though something may exist self-evidently in itself, this self-evidence may not be known to us as humans and therefore, its existence would not be self-evident to us. The fact that if you use the word God, then you, yourself must have an understanding of the meaning of the word. We usually mean a more subjective idea of greatness. Anselm in the 11th century. An ontological argument is one that attempts to prove the existence of god using reason and intuition alone. Thus, the argument cannot work as objective proof.

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What are the strengths of the Ontological Argument for God's existence

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Anselm, an Archbishop of Canterbury, first proposed the Ontological Argument in his book 'Proslogian', according to Anselm, both theists and atheists have a definition of God, if only for atheists to dismiss his existence. Other arguments have been categorised as ontological, including those made by Islamic philosophers and. The argument attempts to prove the existence of God through the reality of existence, and to conclude with God's pre-eternal necessity. For example, you may understand that having a single horn on its head is a defining predicate of a unicorn. God, however, must exist and depends on the existence of nothing else.

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The Ontological Argument

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Evaluation Anselm's starting point was belief in God and thus it is not fair to criticise it as objective proof- for Anselm it was more of a meditation on his already existing faith than an attempt to prove God's existence to the atheist. This version of the argument makes two claims: 1 A being whose non-existence is impossible is greater than a being whose existence is possible. Ω exists as an idea in the mind. Anyone who understands what it means to say that God exists can be led to see that God does exist. For example, being good is a perfection…. This supports atheism as existence is merely something that we can have or not have, and it is absurd to say what something is like without it existing. The ontological argument would be meaningful only to someone who understands the essence of God completely.

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Strengths and weaknesses of the Cosmological Argument. Flashcards

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Consequently, the notion of a supremely perfect God who does not exist, Descartes argues, is unintelligible. The cosmological argument argues that the presence of a God is proven by the existence of the universe. René Descartes and John Locke, both seventeenth-century philosophers, are often seen as two of the first early modern philosophers. Descartes then came to the conclusion that the existence of God and the essence of God go hand in hand. The concept of God demands existence, but the concept of island demands that it may or may not exist depending on other factors. The desire for God is certain to receive a response.


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strengths and weaknesses of the ontological argument

weaknesses of the ontological argument

Those who support the cosmological argument often say that God is an uncaused being; i. He believed that existence is not a quality or perfection , so a completely perfect being need not exist. Ω does not exist, one can conceive of an even greater! Sadra put forward a new argument, known as or Argument of the Righteous. If that organizational structure is true, the argument will provide reasons why God must exist. Proceedings of the International Anselm Conference — Piliscsaba Hungary 20—23. This is surprising because most classical apologists feel that this is fundamentally an unsound argument.

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The weaknesses of the Ontological argument give support to Atheism. Discuss this statement Essay Example for Free

weaknesses of the ontological argument

That's equivalent to not accepting the premise, and is valid enough to be noticed. . But the Christians are the only people who offer any idea of what a being that is beyond personality might be like. The merit of such an achievement is the product of its quality and the creator's disability: the greater the disability of the creator, the more impressive the achievement. However, in order for something to be perfect, it must have always existed, as existence is a integral part of perfection. There is strength in this point, as what Anselm is saying is true. P2: It is one thing to exist in the mind and another to exist in the mind and reality.

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