Anselm God's Existence
analytical Essay
256 words
Anselm's second contention guarantees that God is endless, boundless, by or in time and in this way has important presence and is an essential being. Anselm contends that it is smarter to be a vital being than an unexpected being, a being that relies upon different things for its reality i.e. having a reason/end since this would eventually constrain your energy. He clarifies that God must be an important being on account of if God exists as an unexpected being we could envision more noteworthy, hence God would not be that than which no more noteworthy can be considered. A being which can't be imagined not to exist must be more prominent than one that can be considered not to exist. Anselm at that point clarifies it would be a self logical inconsistency
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how anselm's second contention guarantees that god is endless, boundless, by or in time and in this way has important presence and is an essential being.
Related
- analytical
- explanatory
- opinionated
- Anselm's Existence of God Refutedanalytical essayAnselm's Existence of God Refuted Anselm's Existence of God Refuted If the only proofs for the existence of God were Aquinas’s five ways and Anselm’s ontological argument, in my opinion, Anselm provides the best reasoning. I am not saying that Anselm’s argument is good, or even valid, but just that given the set of proofs by Aquinas and Anselm, Anselm’s is better. Anselm argues, in effect, that the existence of God is built into the very concept of God.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that god's gcb would have to be wise, because a wise being is greater than one that is not wise. justice is better than injustice.
- Explains that there are many arguments as to why anselm's argument is invalid. they have chosen three of them, and illustrated how these arguments make his proof invalid and possible counter-arguments.
- Explains that anselm's argument is that he tries to prove a synthetic statement as if it were an analytic statement. analytic statements can be said to be true or false by reason alone.
- Argues that it is impossible to prove whether something does or does not exist from its definition alone.
- Analyzes kant's argument that existence is not an attribute of an object, like 'temperature', ’size’ etc., and concludes that the existence or non-existence of god cannot have anything to do with the definition
- Explains that if two gods are greater than god, then god is not the greatest thing that can be conceived.
- Opines that anselm's argument is better than aquinas' five ways and his ontological argument. he proceeds by reductio ad absurdum, arguing that god is built into the very concept of god.
- Analyzes how anselm is after the greatest possible being, though he proceeds in terms of what we can or do conceive. the atheist can understand the phrase "being than which none greater can be thought."
- Argues that anselm's argument is a typical example of circular thinking.
1125 wordsRead More - Explain Anselm’s version of the Ontological Argument for proving God’s existence and Gaunilo’s criticismanalytical essaySt Anselm’s argument was from a theistic stance, he had produced the Ontological Argument in a time period where the existence of God was a given. It was very rare to find atheists, therefore it may seem that the Ontological argument was used to convert atheists, it was a response to Psalms 14 and 15 which begins as “The Fool says to himself “there is no God”. However, the argument is actually from a “faith seeking understanding” view and only wants to get closer to understanding the nature of God.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how st anselm's ontological argument was used to convert atheists. it was a response to psalms 14 and 15 which begins with "the fool says to himself "there is no god."
- Explains that the ontological argument was presented in his work "proslogion" in two parts. the first part is focused on proving god's existence.
- Explains anselm's definition of god, stating that it is impossible for there to be a more perfect being.
- Analyzes how anselm's argument can be understood more simply through the illustration of the painter. the painting in reality is greater than the idea alone.
- Analyzes how anselm found the concept of no god absurd, which can be seen in the key quote "why then, did the fool say in his heart "god is not."
- Analyzes how the second part of the argument attempted to demonstrate how god's existence was "necessary" which means that god is not dependant on any other being.
- Explains that god is the greatest possible being and that it is greater to be a necessary being than conceived being.
- Argues that if god existent as a contingent being, then there would be greater being than god that controlled his existence. this is illogical by the definitions of god which states that god is "that then which nothing greater can be conceived."
- Analyzes how gaunilo of marmoutiers rejected anselm's ontological argument in a public essay titled "on behalf of the fool".
- Analyzes how gaunilo used the example of a perfect island in place of god in response to anselm's main argument.
- Concludes that anselm's ontological argument is based purely on reason, which is the a priori aspect of this argument.
854 wordsRead More - The Existence of Godexplanatory essayPhilosophy as defined by our required text is said to be "the love of wisdom. It is the search for the larger picture, the demand for knowledge." There are many questions in philosophy, many involving the subject of religion. Does God exist? Should we believe in God? Is belief in God justified? These are just some of the questions attempted to be answered in philosophy. Every philosopher has a different opinion on the existence of God.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that philosophy is the search for the larger picture, the demand for knowledge. there are many questions in philosophy, many involving the subject of religion.
- Explains st. anselm's philosophical views were influenced by plato. he asked if the nonexistence of god was conceivable.
- Explains that st. thomas aquinas was a member of the dominican order and wrote summa theologica and contra gentiles. he believed in god and formulated five proofs of his existence.
- Explains that the teleological argument is based on the threat against the finite structure of being and the unity of polar elements.
- Explains that there is also belief in the existence of god through the process of evolution. the only species that survived were the ones headed to evolve a brain.
- Explains that philosophers have developed their own proofs and opinions on the subject, and until god comes down to earth, there will still be arguments on his existence.
441 wordsRead More - Kant, St. Anselm's Argument On The Existence Of Godanalytical essayFor centuries the question if God exists has been argued throughout the thoughts and minds of many philosophers and other thinkers. Aristotle, Kant, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Anselm are some of the many philosophers that have taken a toll with their arguments on the existence of God. There has been a vast number of theories and arguments that have been formulated in support of God’s existence. The most often talked about and more commonly known are the cosmological, teleological, the ontological, and the moral arguments. Although they’re all really well made and established arguments, none do the best job at proving the existence of God.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that aristotle, kant, thomas aquinas, and st. anselm have taken a toll with their arguments on the existence of god.
- Explains that the cosmological argument is brought up by the idea that if the universe exists, it must have been caused by something beyond itself.
- Explains that saint thomas aquinas argues that it is impossible for an infinite chain of finite causes to exist.
- Argues that if everything needs a cause, then god would have been caused by something else; otherwise, he would be self-caused, which is impossible.
- Explains the teleological argument or the argument from design, based on the idea that there is a hierarchy of designs, from simple to complex.
- Analyzes william paley's watchmaker analogy, stating that if a watch is nothing compared to the complexity of the universe, then there must be an incredibly wise and powerful creator.
- Argues that evolutionists claim that the design and order of things may be due by chance or natural selection rather than by a designer.
- Explains that the ontological argument relies on reason (priori argument) rather than sense experience (posteriori arguments) and was formulated by anselm of canterbury.
- Explains saint anselm's definition of god in his proslogion. it is better or greater to exist in reality than in the mind, therefore god must exist.
- Analyzes how anselm responded to gaunilo's argument by using the idea of god being a necessary being.
- Analyzes kant's critique of pure reason and thomas aquinas' rejection of the ontological argument.
- Explains the moral argument originated from the writings of immanuel kant, which relies on the human sense of morality.
- Analyzes how martin luther rejected the philosophical principle kant brought up, arguing that human beings who are imperfect cannot by themselves obey god’s commandments. others argue against the idea that moral impulses actually come from god.
- Explains the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments for the existence of god, which have contradictions and critiques that make none of them ideally the best
- Argues that the order of the universe could have happened by chance since it is so unclear. the ontological arguments state that god's existence is from being this supremely perfect being.
- Describes the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. stanford university, 12 june 2014. the oxford companion to philosophy, 2005.
1637 wordsRead More - Anselm's Ontological Argumentexplanatory essayStudent #: 1001725779 TA: Michel S. Tutorial: 10am St. Anselm discovers the ontological argument and he presents an argument that supports Gods existence. In this essay, I will consider the main argument that Anselm states, and list explanations that results in the uncertainty of God’s existence. This essay will critique Anslems argument by using Gaunilo idea of the perfect island and include a priori and a posteriori to show the problematic areas of Anslems argument. We begin with the explanation of Anslems argument. Philosophers call the Ontological argument a reductio ad absurdum and it starts by stating the opposite view and it ends with stating Anselm’s view which is the .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that anselm discovers the ontological argument and presents an argument that supports gods existence. they will critique anslems argument by using gaunilo idea of the perfect island.
- Explains that philosophers call the ontological argument a reductio absurdum and it starts by stating the opposite view and ends with anselm’s view which is the.
- Explains that the ontological argument is solely based on god's existence. if god exists in our understanding, he would be considered greater than which nothing greater can be thought.
- Opines that gaunilo believes that there is flaw in anselm's conclusion because he doubts that god is greater than any other thing based on his understanding.
- Explains that the ontological argument is different from the cosmological argument and the design argument. a priori relies on knowledge and a posteriori is based on experience.
943 wordsRead More - Limitations of the Arguments towards the Existence of Godanalytical essayAnselm proposed that the word of “God” exist Implied God exists as a concept in our mind. If God exists only in our mind, there will be a greater being can be conceived in the mind and reality. Therefore, if we can conceive a being which nothing greater can be conceived, it must exist in reality. Since Anselm defined God is a being that perfect and no great...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the western conception of god is defined as the superme being that is all-powerful, omnipresence, perfection, love, and most kind. atheists suggested that those arguments provide insufficient reason to believe.
- Explains that the papacy became a political player after the decline of the roman empire and christianity spread throughout europe. many monks and scholars try to prove the existence of god.
- Explains that atheists suggested there is insufficient reason to believe god existed since arguments for the existence of god are not persuasive and lack of evidences. they proposed serval arguments to show gods do not exist.
- Explains that the ontological argument was first proposed by st. anselm of canterbury in the 11th century.
- Argues that god must exist if we can conceive of him, since one of god's characteristics is perfection, so denying his existence is self-contradictory.
- Explains that thomas aquinas adapted the cosmological argument and proposed every contingent must have a cause, thus god exist. however, the argument did not explain the reason of the first cause is unique which does not require any causes.
- Explains that design arguments, or intelligent design, demonstrate the existence of god based on the natural order of the universe.
- Argues that if evil exists, god is either impotent or malevolent, which imply god which is all-loving, allpowerful, and allknowing don't exist.
- Explains the argument from nonbelief, which was first elaborated by j. l. schellenberg, that a omnipotent god would do better job to convince his existence if god want human to believe in him.
- Explains that scriptures proposed that god create human by his own image, but it sees that human is quite poor designed.
1305 wordsRead More - Existence Of Godanalytical essayThe Existence of God Ever since I can remember, I have believed in God. I had always thought that he existed in a way that we did not understand and or can not comprehend, and that is spiritually (Almighty). I have always thought that it would be impossible to prove/disprove God's existence (solely based on the spiritual aspect), because if he is the almighty then he can come and go as he sees fit (be seen and unseen as he sees fit, too). There has been a lot that has happened to me, not only in spiritual essences, but also in a physical essence that strengthened my beliefs that God exists. Call it social conditioning, that I have this belief, but my family and friends all have the same belief.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that evidence of god's existence outweighs his non-existence.
- Analyzes how aquinas broke down god's existence based on five reasons: movement, cause, necessity, hierarchy, and design.
- Analyzes clifford's argument that it is wrong to believe something for which you do not have sufficient evidence for, and that beliefs turn into actions.
- Opines that the existence of god is a good topic for discussion. they argue that science has proven that atoms, nucleus and atomic 'things' all came together to create this universe.
975 wordsRead More - St. Anselm's Argument Analysisopinionated essaySt. Anselm’s argument is relevant because so long that there is a lack of order and security (e.g. poverty, wars, calamities), man tends to lean on to the concept of God for support and comfort. His existence, or even the mere concept alone of the greatest conceivable being is a comfort mechanism that provides a sense of order and direction for man, let alone feel they solitary suffer in the world.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that st. anselm's argument is relevant because man tends to lean on the concept of god for support and comfort. his existence provides a sense of order and direction for man.
- Explains that people naturally have a need for an omnipresent being to relate to, whether real or invented.
- Explains that when people are getting poor, they turn to god for support or even for miracles. in the richest countries, at least 70% of their population states that religion is not at all important to them.
- Opines that even secular society can be disordered, the concept of god and his existence will still be relevant.
- Opines that god will cease to be relevant when everyone lives a contented, safe, and basically, perfect life, fueling our hope that the greatest conceivable being exists along with his promise of eternal paradise.
509 wordsRead More - A Philoshpical Approach to Proving the Existence of Godanalytical essayThe Ontological Argument, which argues from a definition of God’s being to his existence, is the first type of argument we are going to examine. Since this argument was founded by Saint Anslem, we will be examining his writings. Saint Anslem starts by defining God as an all-perfect being, or rather as a being containing all conceivable perfections. Now if in addition of possessing all conceivable perfections t...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the question of god's existence has been debated through the history of man, with philosophers from socrates to immanuel kant weighing in on the debate.
- Explains the difference between philosophy of religion and theology. revealed and natural theology use human reasoning to explain the divine.
- Explains the teleological argument, or the argument from design, which starts by saying that the universe exhibits some type of purpose or order, and draws the conclusion that a supreme, intelligent being must be responsible for this order.
- Analyzes how richard dawkin claims that the critics of evolution have misunderstood the concept of cumulative selection.
- Argues that kant's argument that existence is a characteristic is the same as the ontological.
- Analyzes how bertrand russell's critique of the argument does it the most damage. he believes that the contingency argument rests on a misconception of what an explanation is and does.
- Explains that emil fackenheim's views are derived from certain ideas of the jewish philosopher martin buber.
- Analyzes the ontological argument, which argues from a definition of god’s being to his existence.
- Analyzes how paley concludes the watch analogy with the assumption that no intelligent person would assume that the pieces were just a random combination of nature.
- Analyzes saint thomas aquinas' argument about the existence of the universe to god as its cause, creator, or explanation.
- Analyzes how locke tries to counter this by saying that anyone who denies the conclusion of an eternal being is committed to the absurdity that things came into existence from nothing
- Explains that critics of the causal argument are committed to the idea that no matter how far back one goes in a causal series one will never find something without beginning.
- Argues that biblical faith is empirically verifiable and nothing can refute it. fackenheim is misled by the ambiguity of certain statements, such as "destroy" and "test".
4011 wordsRead More - Comparing Anselm's Reply To Gauniloanalytical essayThere are often many mixed views when discussing God’s existence. In Anselm’s works “The Proslogion” and “Anselm’s Reply to Gaunilo” and Gaunilo’s work the “Reply on Behalf of the Fool”, both of their philosophies on the matter are imparted. Anselm’s logic regarding God is correct as he sustains his argument even when it confronted with criticisms and it is comprehensible.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how anselm's logic regarding god is correct as he sustains his argument even when confronted with criticisms and it is comprehensible.
- Analyzes how gaunilo contests anselm's argument by using the example of the 'lost island'.
534 wordsRead More