Analyse The Reasoning Of The Ontological Argument As Presented By Anselm
Analyse the reasoning of the ontological argument as presented by Anselm, and explain its purpose.
The ontological argument is A priori argument for the existence of God. St Anselm is the name most firmly associated with the origins of the ontological argument and he was an 11 century writer and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The argument has the form of a deductive proof and it an analytical argument. He wrote two treatises (the Monologion and Proslogion) which became the foundation of the Ontological Argument. The reasoning for Anselm’s argument can easily be seen in the arguments proposed themselves, however the purpose is slightly more debateable and seems to be somewhere between the view of a critical rationalist and a strong rationalist, I will discuss this after I have explained the reasoning behind the argument.
Anselm’s original argument was written in prose, for the purposes of this essay his argument will be shown in the form of a syllogism. Anselm’s first argument is as follows:
P1) God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived.
P2) It is greater to exist in reality than in the understanding alone.
C) Therefore God exists.
Anselm’s argument here can be described as reductio ad absurdum. Essentially his argument takes something in his head, in this case a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived, then he makes a further assertion about existing in reality being better than existing in the understanding alone. Therefore if God is a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived, and to exist in reality is greater to exist in the understanding alone, God must by definition exist in reality. That is the logic behind Anselm’s first argument.
However Anselm was then criticised by Gaunilo, who used a reduction ad absurdum to state his objection about the perfect island. Although this is not strictly necessary for this question, it is important to understand why Anselm produced a second argument, and it is because of the
The ontological argument is A priori argument for the existence of God. St Anselm is the name most firmly associated with the origins of the ontological argument and he was an 11 century writer and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The argument has the form of a deductive proof and it an analytical argument. He wrote two treatises (the Monologion and Proslogion) which became the foundation of the Ontological Argument. The reasoning for Anselm’s argument can easily be seen in the arguments proposed themselves, however the purpose is slightly more debateable and seems to be somewhere between the view of a critical rationalist and a strong rationalist, I will discuss this after I have explained the reasoning behind the argument.
Anselm’s original argument was written in prose, for the purposes of this essay his argument will be shown in the form of a syllogism. Anselm’s first argument is as follows:
P1) God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived.
P2) It is greater to exist in reality than in the understanding alone.
C) Therefore God exists.
Anselm’s argument here can be described as reductio ad absurdum. Essentially his argument takes something in his head, in this case a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived, then he makes a further assertion about existing in reality being better than existing in the understanding alone. Therefore if God is a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived, and to exist in reality is greater to exist in the understanding alone, God must by definition exist in reality. That is the logic behind Anselm’s first argument.
However Anselm was then criticised by Gaunilo, who used a reduction ad absurdum to state his objection about the perfect island. Although this is not strictly necessary for this question, it is important to understand why Anselm produced a second argument, and it is because of the