philosophy
mariajas
6.1-OntologicalArgument.rtf• The Ontological Argument
--Any argument which attempts to prove God exists without appealing to experience, that is using only reason and logic, is an Ontological Argument. The two most famous versions of this argument are given by St. Anselm and Rene Descartes.
St. Anselm’s Version
(on handout)
Descartes’ Version
1. God possesses all possible perfections. (She is the “most” everything, most good, most powerful, etc.)
2. Existence is a perfection. (It is better to have a real $100 than an imaginary $100)
3. Therefore, God has the property of existence.
4. Thus, God must exist.
• Objections:
St. Anselm’s version
Premises 2 and 3 may be questioned.
Descartes’ version
1. Is existence a property?
2. If it is, does it make things greater (is it a perfection)?
3. The argument is either circular or uninformative. If the first premise is saying God must possess the property of existence, then it is a circular proof. But if it means, “If God exists, then God possesses the property of existence,” then the conclusion should read, “If God exists, then God exists,” which is uninformative.
