Although the book is quite short, it is very ambitious in scope. Mar 18, 2016 the whole world seemed to be telling me the argument was true, but somehow i found myself still unable to believe it. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god that uses ontology. Ontological argument the phrase ontological argument is generally understood by historians of philosophy to refer to an argument for the existence of god. The argument on the ontological argument 1061 words bartleby.
Existence is derived immediately from the clear and distinct idea of a supremely perfect being. The other reason the ontological argument clings to life is the idea of objective truth. Ontological turn, the cambridge encyclopedia of anthropology. I have taken one of them and rephrased it so it is more logical. The ontological argument definition of the ontological.
His argument is known as reductio ad absurdum, which demonstrates through a contradiction that god exists. Ontological arguments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality. Enrich your vocabulary with the english definition dictionary. Anselm explains in his responsio that by a being which cannot be conceived not to exist he means one that is eternal in the sense of having no beginning or. Arab, indian, and chinese philosophers also studied the world around them, deduced general rules of existence, and.
The traditional definition of an ontological argument was given by immanuel kant. Anselm in which he used this argument to prove this existence of god by utilizing an a priori reasoning. He cautions the reader first to read diligently augustines books on the trinity, and. Ontological argument from descartes to hegel, the jhp books by. The ontological argument from descartes to hegel jhp books harrelson, kevin j. The ontological argument, then, is unique among such arguments in that it purports to establish the real as opposed to abstract existence of some entity. Pdf the ontological argument ben r crenshaw academia. The cosmological argument you will already be familiar with. Kant called ontological the argument that, deducing gods existence from his definition, aims to turn the sentence god exists into a logical truth. History of the ontological argument for the existence of god. He argues that one thing is necessary to exist, and that thing is god. No example is provided of a hegelian ontological argument. Ontological argument definition of ontological argument by. It was called first philosophy by aristotle in book iv of his metaphysics.
In particular, i found the precartesian discussion of ontological arguments very hard to investigate. The term onto the term onto philosophy of religion, philosophy of religion analytical philosophy of religion, still in its infancy in the 1960s, has developed markedly since then. What was the best argument against the ontological argument. The argument does not provide any kind of physical evidence, but instead the argument is made through thoughts and logic. Ontological argument project gutenberg selfpublishing. It thus differs from other theological arguments because it does not appeal to things or features within the world to prove gods existence. Jun 06, 2019 although the ontological argument comes in many forms, in this article we will be examining alvin plantingas modal ontological argument. Struggling with the ontological argument the good book blog. What is the ontological argument for gods existence. Ontological argument anselm, descartes, and plantinga. In this essay i will discuss the validity of this argument. Ontological argument for the gods existence internet.
The argument centers of the existence of a maximally great entity someone idea of god. Ontological argument definition and meaning collins english. Toner, in the catholic encyclopedia, robert appleton company, new york, 1911. Ontological argument the cambridge descartes lexicon. Fascination with the argument stems from the effort to prove gods existence from simple but powerful premises. By definition, god is a being greater than which cannot be conceived. God, in other words, is the greatest conceivable being if one could conceive of a greater being, then that would be god. Gaunilos ontological argument 924 words internet public. Anselms ontological argument bibliography philpapers.
Ontological argument overview introduction to philosophy. The argument became, as morpheus says in the movie the matrix, a splinter in my mind, driving me mad. Anselm and descartes are the primary examples of these two uses. This sort of ontology wasnt practiced only in the west. Jul 27, 2020 ontology refers to the study of being, so the ontological argument claims that because god is the kind of being who must exist, therefore, he does exist. Anselm of canterburys ontological argument uses the definition of god to. According to the kantian view, ontological arguments are those founded on a priori reasoning. So, in the end, all three arguments reduce to the ontological argument, which tells us that god must exist, since existence belongs to the very concept of god.
The term ontological was used by immanuel kant to describe descartess version of the argument. Anselm began with the concept of god as that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Important variations were developed by later philosophers like shahab al. Jun 23, 2019 according to the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 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 world e.
Ontology is the branch of philosophy that studies concepts such as existence, being, becoming, and reality. Many people find it perverse and baffling and accuse it of being circular or not proving anything, but its a difficult argument to challenge. Descartes ontological argument stanford encyclopedia of. Most arguments for gods existence start from something we observe in the world that logically infer god as the cause of these observable effects e. Jul 21, 2020 the ontological argument seeks to prove the existence of god simply by reflecting on the idea of god. Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists. Compare cosmological argument, teleological argument 2. Definition of ontological argument in the dictionary. Compare cosmological argument, teleological argument. Ontological argument ontological arguments attempt to establish the. The ontological argument is a deductive argument that is an analytical statement that can be constructed by definition s.
It seems if the ontological argument is really true, then it must be, but i. Ontological arguments definition of ontological arguments. A formal analysis of the ontological argument jstor. An ontological argument for the existence of god attempts the method of a priori proof, which uses intuition and reason alone. The ontological argument begins with the claim that god, by definition, is infinitely great. Doug groothuis november 2, 2011 the ontological argument and its nature the ontological argument was first postulated by st. As far as i know, there has been no exhaustive historical study of ontological arguments, even for relatively narrow historical periods. Hence the ontological argument is not a proof, but a demonstration of gods existence, and from it anselm explores whatever can be said or thought about god. Mechanized analysis of anselms modal ontological argument. The ontological argument is one of the more recent arguments we consider its only 1,000 years old. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god anselms argument is an a priori argument. Paolo heywood, department of social anthropology, university of cambridge, cb2 3rf, united kingdom.
At long last i find only one reason to question the ontological argument. The ontological argument a valid argument for christian theism ben crenshaw defending the christian faith pr501ev dr. This is an ontological theory of the natural world, and it had a huge impact on medieval philosophy and farreaching implications for aristotles moral theory. Anselms argument was not presented in order to prove gods existence. Ontological argument in the concise oxford dictionary of the christian church.
The ontological argument itself is described below. According to the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 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 world e. Harrelsons book is an incisive and illuminating account of the complex fortunes of the ontological argument in modern philosophy. Plantinga criticized malcolms and hartshornes arguments, and offered an alternative. In that book he sought a general objection that would account for the failure of all. The ontological argument for gods existence theology think. Ontological argument for the existence of god the ontological argument for the existence of god was first propounded by anselm c. The ontological argument from descartes to hegel jhp books.
What is the ontological argument for the existence of god. Such arguments tend to refer to the state of being or existing. St anselms version of the ontological argument anselms argument relies on conceivability. More example sentences however, the contention that the cosmological argument depends on the ontological argument is based on a confusion. The word ontological comes from ontology, the study of ology of what exists or being ont. The ontological argument st anselm and descartes both famously presented an ontological argument for the existence of god. It is part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics ontology deals with questions about what things exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped according to similarities and differences. More specifically, ontological arguments tend to start with an a priori theory about the organization of the universe. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument, made from an ontological basis, that is advanced in support of the existence of god. Anselm to contemporary philosophers alvin plantinga, richard taylor on amazon. Ontological argument definition, an a priori argument for the existence of god, asserting that as existence is a perfection, and as god is conceived of as the most.
An accessible book of translations, commentary, and analysis would be very useful. Indeed, if the ontological arguments succeed, it is as much a contradiction to suppose that god doesnt exist as it is to suppose that there are square circles or female bachelors. Anselm of canterbury s ontological argument uses the definition of god to prove his existence. He has published numerous biographical articles in the dictionary of.
He has published articles on the ontological turn in anthropology, queer activism in italy, and the anthropology of ethics, and his first book, after difference. Ontological argument, the phrase ontological argument is generally understood by historians of philosophy to refer to an argument for the existence of god. Theologian and philosopher anselm of canterbury 10331109 proposed an ontological argument in the second and third chapters of his proslogion. The ontological argument, written by philosopher st. Since his ontological arguments and belief in god cambridge 1995. Anselm of canterbury in his book the proslogion in the eleventh century, is a metaphysical argument for the existence of god in reality. Ontology simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Descartes ontological or a priori argument is both one of the most fascinating and poorly understood aspects of his philosophy. Ontological argument, argument that proceeds from the idea of god to the reality of god. It uses modal logic, which if you have read article 02. The ontological argument was proposed by a man named st. It includes the questions of how entities are grouped into basic categories and which of these entities exist on the most fundamental level. Their versions of the argument are slightly different, but. Philosophy the traditional a priori argument for the existence of god on the grounds that the concept itself necessitates existence.
Ontology, the philosophical study of being in general, or of what applies neutrally to everything that is real. Apr 17, 2020 in an effort to debunk the ontological argument, one winds up repeating it. Concepts such as power, knowledge, goodness, and so forth assume there is some standard by which to judge those ideas. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. Plantinga has expressed a modal logic version of the ontological argument in which he uses modal logic to develop, in a more rigorous and formal way, norman malcolms and charles hartshornes modal ontological arguments.
877 1492 330 330 266 724 84 1309 1345 1452 215 1144 983 1079 925 657 61 278 1398 868 259 1512 163 1162 231 1118 391 174