Plantingas modal ontological argument has its roots in anselms original ontological argument. His rejection of the ontological argument caused other catholic theologians to also reject the argument. The persuasiveness of plantinga s argument rests on two key factors. God, in other words, is the greatest conceivable being if. Three versions of the ontological argument andrew m. The ontological argument would be meaningful only to someone who understands the essence of god completely. The one fatal flaw in anselms argument peter millican. A second ontological argument i rather than going these ways, descartes responded to the criticism by say that it is not \existence that is the important perfection, but ecessary existence. Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists, from premises which are supposed to derive from some source other than observation of the worlde. To be unconditionally conclusive, the argument must be formulated as follows. This leads stewart, in his influential paper, to conclude that the ontological argument, as such, is never considered by hume. Ii 1 god exists in the understanding but not in reality. Anselms ontological argument than we did when charles hartshorne and norman malcolm brought it to the attention of philosophers some years ago.
The author provides and analyses a critical taxonomy of those versions of the argument that have been advanced in recent philosophical literature, as well as of those historically important versions found in the work of. Godels ontological argument, in its different variants, is amongst the most discussed formal proofs in modern literature, and so most of its premises and inferential steps have been subject to. Basically, plantingas argument looks at the how god in possible worlds is necessary and uses this point to show how he is necessary for all possible worlds. Thomas aquinas in the th century, it was revived in the 17th century by rene des.
Anselm sought to demonstrate the existence of god by deductive argument. Yet many people seem to have a hard time understanding it. Plantingas ontological argument restated analogies aside, what is specifically wrong with plantingas modal argument for the existence of god. I have to say, i think several of the objections presented against the ontological argument basically miss the mark.
Originated with anselm, archbishop of canterbury, yrs ago. Descartes ontological or a priori argument is both one of the most fascinating and poorly understood aspects of his philosophy. What those arguments provide the ontological argument is an a priori repudiation of the conjunct and also possibly god fails to exist, all things being imperfect. Anselm developed a controversial a priori argument for the existence of god. Anselm, who claims that once we understand the nature of god as a being than which nothing greater can be conceived, we realize that his essence implies his existence. The ontological argument 3 the ontological argument explained the ontological argument for the existence of a monotheistic god was first put forth by st. Ontological arguments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. I assess the contributions of anselm, descartes, leibniz, and godel, and criticisms by gaunilo, kant, and oppy among others. This essay critically examines plantingas modal version. I the ontological argument comes in various forms, but the common element is that it asserts that gods existence can be proven simply from the concept of god. Kane we know more today about the second, or socalled modal, version of st. They have agreed with hume and kant that existence is not merely a matter of logic, and that gods existence cannot be demonstrated on the basis of thought alone. It offers a comprehensive discussion of one of the most famous arguments for the existence of god. This entry is a good place to start for clarification of the above notes to the argument.
Ontological argument, argument that proceeds from the idea of god to the reality of god. Anselms text anselms ontological argument is presented in his proslogion, starting with chapter ii, though where the argument. Nonetheless, plantingas version has generated much interest and discussion. Leibniz stresses the incompleteness of previous versions of the ontological argument. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god in proslogion jose kuruvachira anselm of canterbury1 10331109, known also as anselm of aosta and anselm of bec, was one of. Anselm developed a controversial a priori argument for the exis tence of god. Descartes employed versions of the ontological argument where the very concept of god as a perfect being implies existence as a. Notice that in this system 3 xn 3yy x is not merely consistent it is valid. The ontological argument has been attacked through history most recently by richard dawkins in the god delusion. The latin term ontologia science of being was felicitously invented by the german philosopher jacob.
Anselm was the archbishop of canterbury who lived from 10331109 a. The form of the argument is that of a reductio ad absurdum argument. Therefore, if that, than which nothing greater can be conceived, exists in the understanding alone, the very being, than which nothing greater can be conceived, is one, than which a greater can be conceived. Future students of the ontological argument will find it something of a burden if they have to manage without it. The ontological argument alvin plantinga 1 the third theistic argument i wish to discuss is the famous ontological argument first formulated by anselm of canterbury in the eleventh century. Ao1 a examine the ontological argument for the existence. Charles hartshorne and the ontological argument aporia vol. More specifically, ontological arguments tend to start with an a priori theory about the organization of the universe. The original argument basically examines gods place as a necessary being and unfolds logically why. Leibnizs theodicy p how can logic help us with such topics. Anselm began with the concept of god as that than which nothing greater can be. Firstly, plantinga very skilfully defined gods attributes in terms of. The modal ontological argument common sense atheism. Consistency and contradiction logic and the philosophy of religion marcus, symbolic logic, fall 2014.
I shall take it for granted that the connection between what i call ontological arguments and traditional presenta tions of the ontological argument there is, of course, no one argument that can be called the ontological argument is plain. The author concludes that while the argument is probably formally valid, it is ultimately unsound. Ontological argument project gutenberg selfpublishing. It moves through logical stages to reach a conclusion. The one fatal flaw in anselms argument 439 gods existence, and another under which it is validand indeed soundbut fails to prove the existence of god. However, the predicate logic of descriptions must be free, since these terms may fail to denote. What was particularly intetesting was seeing alvin plantingas rebuttal of the argument he would later come to support, although only after tweaking it which i think has really transormed it and is the most convincing form of it that ive ever read. It was called first philosophy by aristotle in book iv of his metaphysics. The ontological argument in contrast to the previous three arguments which attempt to prove the existence of god by relying on sense experience known as a posteriori arguments, the ontological argument from the greek, ontos. Their versions of the argument are slightly different, but. That which can be conceived not to exist is not god. The ontological argument from st anselm, proslogium, trans. Alvin plantingas modal ontological s argument is a irrefutable logical argument for the existence of god. The ontological argument for the existence of god is a classical christian argument that contends that the very concept of god logically and necessarily demands existence.
About the work although anselms argument for gods existence presented in this article is based on predominately on reason, anselm presents the argument as clari. Reprinted by permission of open court publishing company, a division of carus publishing company, peru, il. This argument for the existence of god has fascinated philosophers ever since anselm first stated it. The most famous objection to the ontological argument is given in kants dictum that existence is not a real predicate. Before we state the cosmological argument itself, we shall consider some rather general points about the argument. This means that one cannot generalize upon a description xwithout rst asserting 9yy x. The ontological argument and the existence of god the ontological argument has been described as the most interesting and remarkable of the traditional. The ontological argument for the existence of god i. Having receded from the forefront of intellectual thought after being refuted by st. The ontological argument has proved to be a constant source of fascination for philosophers, all the way down through the ages since its first statement by saint anselm, archbishop of canterbury, in the eleventh century. Pdf ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists, from premises which are supposed to derive from some source.
In order to show this, the individual premises of the ontological argument must be evaluated. Charles hartshorne and the ontological argument religion online. On the logic of the ontological argument stanford university. Historically, it can be traced to the writings of the greek philosophers, plato and. That phrase, popular and useful as it is, probably doesnt bear up very well under close logical scrutiny for it seems to imply that there is some argument that is the ontological argument, an argument of which the eleventhcentury argument, the. However, while the ontological argument may be valid, it remains to be shown that it is sound. Ontology, the philosophical study of being in general, or of what applies neutrally to everything that is real. Jan 07, 2012 alvin plantingas modal ontological s argument is a irrefutable logical argument for the existence of god.
We examine the famous ontological argument in proslogium ii. One of the first to formulate the ontological argument was st. Most people believe that god exists, and many have attempted to give rational arguments or proofs for his existence. Anselms argument together with gaunilos, aquinas and kants objections are conveniently summarized by kenneth einar himma in the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Lewis 9 the ontological arguments from the greek word ontos, having to do with being or existence. Th e ontological argument may have seemed acceptable at. The ontological argument simple version in meditation 5, descartes argument for the existence of god looks something like this. Leibnizs ontological proof of the existence of god and the problem of. Maydole ontological arguments are deductive arguments for the existence of god from general metaphysical principles and other assumptions about the nature or essence of god. The ontological argument begins with the claim that god, by definition, is infinitely great. This definition is not supposed to assume that god actually exists. According to this argument, there is no need to go out looking for physical evidence of gods existence. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god anselms argument is an a priori argument. One of the most fascinating arguments for the existence of an allperfect god is the ontological argument.
It is the argument that, if one understands what is meant by the word god and follows it out to the logical conclusion, it is impossible for such a being not to exist. Ontological arguments and belief in god by graham oppy. In contrast, the ontological arguments are conceptual in roughly the following sense. Pdf leibnizs ontological argument maria rosa antognazza. My idea of god is the idea of a supremely perfect being. Many arguments fall under the category of the ontological, and they tend to involve arguments about the state of being or existing. The word ontological comes from ontology, the study of ology of what exists or being ont. This paper presents the special issue on formal approaches to the ontological argument and briefly introduces the ontological argument from the standpoint of logic and philosophy of religion more. Here, plantinga attempted to use the philosophical concept of possible worlds to show the necessary nature of gods existence. Revision outline for the ontological argument ao1 a examine the ontological argument for the existence of god. More specifically, ontological arguments tend to start with a priori theory about the organization of the universe.
In other words, ontological arguments are arguments from what are typically alleged to be none but analytic, a priori and necessary premises to the. Therefore, if that, than which nothing greater can be conceived, exists in the understanding alone, the very being, than which nothing greater can be conceived, is. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. Ontological argument criticisms introduction to philosophy. Descartes ontological argument stanford encyclopedia of. The relevance of kants objection to anselms ontological argument chris heathwood department of philosophy, university of colorado at boulder, 232 ucb, boulder, co 803090232 email. The ontological argument for the existence of god has enjoyed a recent renaissance among philosophers of religion.
In step 3 of the reductio, though, the argument relies on p1b. Now we believe that you are are something than which nothing greater can be thought. It seems at the outset that there is something strange about this argument. Leibnizs ontological proof of the existence of god and. The ontological argument for the existence of god refers to the claim that the very logical possibility of gods existence entails his actuality. In fact, his modal ontological argument is considered one of the most articulate and comprehensive arguments for the existence of god to date. Plantinga developed his modal version of the ontological argument for the existence of god in his two controversial books, the nature of necessity 1974. While there are several different versions of the argument, all purport to show that it is selfcontradictory to deny that there exists a greatest possible being. Pdf the ontological argument and the existence of god david. Historically, however, the term is inextricably associated with the famous argument presented in anselms proslogion chapter ii, and with. Anselm sought out to prove gods existence strictly through reason and rationalism alone. The ontological argument is an argument for gods existence based entirely on reason. The ontological argument peter millican any argument which attempts to prove gods existence a priori based only on his nature can be termed an ontological argument.
Outline the four classic proofs for gods existence. A sound argument is one which is both valid and contains true premises chapter 2, writing philosophy. Many arguments fall under the category of the ontological, but they tend to involve arguments about the state of being or existing. Anselm 10331109 of canterbury was born in aosta, italy. In this article tristan stone, head of religious studies and theology at harris westminster academy, defends the ontological argument and assesses its strengths.
The ontological argument, an 11th century proof of the existence of god, is a good candidate for fun with formal methods as nearly everyone finds the. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god that uses ontology. In other words, ontological arguments are arguments from what are. I have not, in fact, employed the lineaments of the classical cosmological argument in seeking an a priori negation of that conjunct. The relevance of kants objection to anselms ontological. Pdf this paper presents the special issue on formal approaches to the ontological argument and briefly introduces the ontological argument. Fascination with the argument stems from the effort to prove gods existence from simple but powerful premises. There is a reason x for thinking that there is a first cause of things of type t. Anselm ontological argument san jose state university. The ontological argument st anselm and descartes both famously presented an ontological argument for the existence of god. One might put the argument in other words, and argue that god. This chapter presents and critically discusses the main historical variants of the ontological argument, a form of a priori argument for the existence of god pioneered by anselm of canterbury. Aquinas reasoned that, as only god can completely know his essence, only he could use the argument. Speaks january 6, 2006 1 anselms presentation of the argument anselms argument begins with a statement of what god is.
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