St. 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.
People naturally have an inclination to have a need for an omnipresent being to relate to, whether real or invented. They satisfy this need in a variety of ways– children create imaginary friends while some adults have religion and god(s). It is in our very nature that we need to worship something, to recognize a higher being for the sake that we can assure ourselves that we have a purpose. With that, we can consider that God’s existence is a belief that can make an individual feel better, happier, or safer. This strong adherence to such Being is further cemented (and is more prevalent) when we have external circumstances
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In humanity’s early centuries, the standard of living was low, thus, people needed to believe that there was a heaven and that what they were doing was worth something. Nowadays, in general, life is easier and better, so less people need to convince themselves that this is just a preparation for something better. Statistically speaking, 19 out of the top 20 richest countries of the world, at least 70% of their population states that religion is not at all important to them, however, in the poorest of nations, an astonishing 96%-100% of the whole population is a devout believer. The idea behind such correlation is that since people have this perception that they can’t improve the here and now (e.g. due to weak economic institutions), they’ll just focus on the spiritual things and look forward to the next world
St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas were considered as some of the best in their period to represent philosophy. St. Anselm’s argument is known as the ontological argument; it revolves entirely around his statement, “God is that, than which no greater can be conceived” (The Great Conversation, Norman Melchert 260). St. Thomas Aquinas’ argument is known as the cosmological argument; it connects the effects of events to the cause for why they happened. Anselm’s ontological proof and Aquinas’ cosmological proof both argued for God’s existence, differed in the way they argued God’s existence, and had varying degrees of success using these proofs.
The 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...
Throughout the world, most people believe in some type of god or gods, and the majority of them understand God as all-good, all-knowing (omniscient), and all-powerful (omnipotent). However, there is a major objection to the latter belief: the “problem of evil” (P.O.E.) argument. According to this theory, God’s existence is unlikely, if not illogical, because a good, omniscient, and omnipotent being would not allow unnecessary suffering, of which there are enormous amounts.
On December 2,2015 I went to to the Lynnhaven building to receive some feedback on my agreement paper for English 111. It was a very rainy day after running through the rain when I reached the writing center room. There was a yellow note saying that the writing center was in the student center until December 4,2015. After reading the note I ran back in the rain to my car.It was to cold to walk it was raining. As I approached the student center I was told by a security guard that the tutoring lab was located on the third floor. I had walked up three flights of stairs. When I had finally reached the third floor,I walk into the tutoring lab. There were about eight tables, but only four staff members and one student. Amen had approached me asking what did I need help with today. I replied saying that I would like some feedback on my paper for English. He then pointed to the writing table and said “she can assist you with your paper”.
In the Proslogion, Anselm tries to prove the existence of God and his powers through the ontological argument. This argument redirects the argument of God’s existence from science and observation to logic, where Anselm explains that there has to be a being that nothing greater can be thought of, and that is God. One of Anselm’s main topics of contention is God’s omnipotence and whether He is actually infinite. In the Proslogion, Anselm talks about God’s omnipotence and if it can be disavowed because of self-contradictory statements, how God’s non-action gives him more possibility and power, and how being all-powerful can lead to God being both merciful and yet not feel the pains of sinners.
They have been called "gods." These almighty, powerful beings that are far too superior for us to understand; or so most of us have been made to believe. Some may say he is a Great Examiner, others could say he is the Creator. Some could even say he doesn't exist. Frankly, what I want to emphasize is how such beliefs could reduce even the bravest and strongest of us all to a whimpering child. Something that we ar...
Anselm was a stable believer in God, so he wanted to use logic and reason to confirm his faith and clarify God’s existence. Anselm’s argument was given in chapter two of Proslogion. Its main focus is the meaning of God. Furthermore, he claims that everyone, whether they trust in God or not, agrees with this definition. Anselm says there is a difference between understanding that God exists and understanding him to be a concept.
There 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.
Another way that St. Anselm's argument differs from other arguments is that it requires that you look at a definition of the concept of God. As Sober says, the definition of an object does not, in itself, prove its existence. Some examples he gives are unicorns and golden...
He further elaborates the topic by speaking on the idea that God is a Necessary being who has no cause but He is the cause of everything and He is the one who sustained this universe. In conclusion of the chapter, Rachels stated that idea of the existence of God will always remain in the contemplations of religious people and arguments used in this chapter needs more convincing evidence to prove the existence of God in this Universe. The chapter commenced by the most thought-provoking argument that “Is it Reasonable to Believe in God?”. The author to explicit this argument gives the result of Gallop polls and the polls conducted by Pew research center, which indicates that the underdeveloped countries are more religious than the developed countries and specifically in United states only 56% of the people consider religion as the most important part of their lives. Furthermore, the author discussed that no one detects the God existence by ordinary means, however, some people can have the sensation that God is somewhere around them no matter if they cannot see, heard or touch Him.
When you think of God, you jump straight to the immortal God of the Christianity faith where they are not physically present; they are omnipresent (ReligionFacts, 2004). In relationship
Furthering this line of inquiry into god(s) existence as it has been discussed within my section of Problem of God, the question which all other discourse relies upon is whether or not god(s) exist at all. To tackle this, my class has had readings from two saints, the Proslogion of St. Anselm and St.Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. From the Proslogion, I gleamed circular reasoning. St.Anselm’s argument to prove his God’s existence begins with the caveat that a person must believe in a god figure(s) to even comprehend his argument. Therefore, he is only affirming his God’s existence to those who already believe and reducing his argument to a simple exercise in attempting logic. St. Anselm explains the existence of God as obvious because of the characteristic so tightly bound to being godly, perfection. St. Anselm reasons that perfection is absolutely indicative of true existence. The argument falls apart given a person who does not believe or, if a person does decide to agree with St. Anselm that God exists, the argument can be challenged because of what my
In Introducing Philosophy of Religion, Chad Meister asserts “there are several components (that) seem to be central to the world religion: a system of beliefs, the breaking in of a transcendent reality, and human attitudes of ultimate concern, meaning and purpose” (Meister 6). Throughout my life, I feel that religion is one of the core social belief systems that people use to maintain what they feel is a good way to live. Giving them a sense of purpose or fulfillment during their earthly life, most hoping whatever beliefs that have will help them after death. Even though there are many different religions or religious value systems, everyone has most likely been exposed to one or more. There is only 15% of the world’s population that do not believe in one type of religion or another (Meister, 7).
The concept of God can be a difficult one to grasp especially in today's world - a world in which anyone that believes in God is trying to define exactly what God is. To even attempt to grasp such a concept, one must first recognize his own beliefs in respect to the following questions: Is God our creator? Is God omnipotent (all-powerful) or omniscient (all-knowing) or both? Does God care? Is God with us? Does God interfere with life on earth? These questions should be asked and carefully answered if one should truly wish to identify his specific beliefs in God's existence and persistence.
In a functionalistic view religion provides focus and purpose to a society and assists its leadership in controlling the society. In other words it helps society stay on course with the path that its leadership has deems important or suitable. Practicing, praying or preaching a religious belief contributes to the norms of a society, possibly mostly a societies’ mores (Schaefer, 2009). Since religion in itself usually instructs its followers to practice the ideologies of peace and to be submissive to their god and leaders, this helps society be passive on a global level. Many religions that are practiced today are embedded with customs, traditions, an...