The argument to side with in this paper is that of Anselm’s “Proslogian” where he argues for the existence of God in a less complex way as compared to the Monologian. Inevitably, the Proslogian received criticism from other notable philosophers, some of which will be addressed in this paper as well. Once the fool understands that than which nothing greater can be thought, he will comprehend the existence of God. The divine attributes of God will also be discussed to aid in the fool’s understanding of God’s existence. The premises of the ontological argument are as follows:
1. If that than which nothing greater can be thought can be thought, then it exists in reality.
2. It can be thought.
3. Therefore, That than which nothing greater can be thought (it) exists in reality.
The main reason for the writing of the Proslogian was to offer a standalone argument that would explain the existence of God but also the various attributes that Christians believe God has. Some of these attributes belong only to God while some He shares with His creatures. The attribute of All-Powerful complements Anselm’s argument “that than which nothing greater can be thought”. God is the creator of the universe, He is present everywhere, He is Infinite and Unchanging. A fool may not fully comprehend God’s essence, but Anselm offers the Proslogian as a more simple argument to aid in the understanding of the existence of God.
There is a difference in the object existing in the mind as compared to the object actually existing. For example when a movie director plans beforehand what he or she is going to film, he has the idea in his mind, but he does not yet think that it actually exists because he has not yet made the film. However, when he has actua...
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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.
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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...
To defend the lord’s existence, he begins by presenting the argument that God is “something that than which nothing greater can be though” (432). This is apparent as God trumps all things that exist in this world as He is the creator therefore, the greatest of all. Certainly, if He is greater than what can be thought, then for the same reason He must
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