Pragmatic Argument For God's Existence Essay

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Pragmatic Argument for God’s Existence
For centuries philosophers have been theorizing about the existence of God. This issue is still a very controversial topic even today in the twenty-first century. Philosophers have tried to distinctively describe the essence/nature of God seemingly to no avail. By examining the pragmatist’s argument for God’s existence, I will be able to identify any weaknesses, if any with this argument, and determine whether it undermines belief in God.
Pragmatic philosophers assess a theory’s validity by testing the theory from an ontological (logical) approach. According to the eleventh century monk St. Anselm, “God is a deity that is greater than the greatest thought. In order for you to think of God, He must exist”
(Solomon, Higgins, …show more content…

That designer must be God according to Aquinas (Solomon, Higgins, and Martin 139-142).
I would characterize the pragmatic argument for God’s existence as, “trying to find truth behind beliefs and theories as to whether God exist by utilizing practical application”. However, many philosophers agree that a major weakness of the pragmatic argument is there is no way of proving whether the premises are true. Atheists believe that the pragmatic’s arguments are manipulative and full of trickery, therefore they want no part of believing that God exist.
In conclusion, no philosopher to date have definitively pinpointed whether God does or does not exist. As with any argument, there are pros and cons to be taken into consideration. I did not find the cons to undermine believing in God. Like Blaise Pascal, I too am willing to wager that God exists. Worst case scenario, if God doesn’t exist then I have forfeited a few worldly pleasures, but if God does exist, I have an infinite reward which is Heaven (Solomon,
Higgins, and Martin 154-155). I find that the pragmatic argument is very logical, reasonable, sound, and valid. Therefore, I conclude that God

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