Writing Assignment Number 2: The Ontological Argument Through the ontological argument‚ Anselm seeks to prove that God exists and he attempts to refute the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. This fool has two important characteristics: he understands the claim that God exists and he does not believe that God exists. Gaunilo plays the role of the “fool” and challenges Anselm’s ontological argument. I will argue that Anselm’s response to Gaunilo’s attack is not adequate
Premium Ontology Ontological argument Metaphysics
The Ontological Argument: An explanation and critical assessment Phil 361 Lec 01 Professor: Reid Buchanan Ryley Braun‚ 10013764 April 16‚ 2010 The ontological argument is an attempt to refute skepticism of God and prove His existence through reason alone. The philosopher‚ Saint Anselm‚ presented his work on the ontological argument‚ or argument from reason‚ in his text the Proslogium. The argument‚ on the surface‚ is very logically convincing and attempts to allure even the skeptic of
Premium Ontology Metaphysics Existence
a) Explain key ideas in the Design Argument for the existence of God. (30 Marks) b) Assess the view that science has made the Design Argument a failure. (15 Marks) “With such signs of forethought in the design of living creature‚ can you doubt they are the work of choice or design?” (Socrates) The Design argument looks at the order and purpose‚ or telos‚ in the world and states that it implies that there must be a designer who made the world ‘just right’ for human existence. Religious believers
Premium Charles Darwin Teleological argument Intelligent design
I do not find any of the traditional proofs for God’s existence persuasive‚ and I will go over each argument one at a time to explain why I do not find them persuasive‚ starting with Anselm’s ontological argument‚ then Aquinas’ cosmological argument‚ and finally Paley’s teleological argument. First‚ Anselm’s ontological argument is not persuasive because the argument can be used to prove things that do not exist. The faulty logic is shown in Gaunilo’s Lost Island Objection because instead of putting
Premium
Melissa Watchorn November 4‚ 2011 The Teleological Argument and its Not-so-logical Form. The teleological argument attempts to prove in its form that there is an ultimate design and therefore ultimate designer of the universe. It attempts to tell us that‚ since the universe shows some form of design (a butterfly’s wings‚ a human eye‚ etc)‚ there must be some sort of intelligent designer behind it all. The argument from design is as follows: “Watches‚ houses‚ ships‚ machines and so on all
Premium Intelligent design Evolution Charles Darwin
The Teleological Argument for God There are many theories about how the universe‚ earth‚ and humans came into existence. Some aim to prove the existence of God‚ that a large explosion created all life‚ or even that everything has just always existed. One of these theories works to answer questions about creation and prove the existence of the Christian God; this theory is known as the Teleological argument. To expand my basis of knowledge on this subject I consulted Matthew Esters‚ who recently
Premium
A defense of the ontological argument Daniel Andrews In this essay I will first explain the ontological argument and my reasons for choosing it. I will then discuss why I believe it is a better account for the existence of god than the teleological argument and the cosmological argument. I will then move onto discuss various theologians that oppose the ontological argument and critique their responses. The aim of the essay if to show the strength of the argument and to expose some key weaknesses
Premium Ontology Metaphysics Ontological argument
had tackled the different arguments that were made by different philosophers which concerns about the existence of God. Its aim is to deepen our understanding of certain religious concepts and beliefs as it tries to critically analyze and examine through the method of philosophical inquiry. Philosophy of religion does not simply study what we believe but more significantly‚ subject these beliefs to rigorous rational criticism and assessment. Anselm’s Ontological Argument is an ideal of a purely analytic
Premium Ontology Metaphysics Existence
The Teleological (Design/creation) argument Teleological arguments are arguments from the order in the universe to the existence of God. The name “the teleological argument” is derived from the Greek word telos‚ meaning end or purpose. The most plausible suggestion is that the universe is so because it was created by an intelligent being in order to accomplish that purpose‚ than it is so to suppose that it is this way by chance. William Paley made the most cited statement of the argument‚ and
Premium Teleological argument Charles Darwin Universe
The cosmological arguments are inductive arguments based on an ‘a posteriori’ premise‚ which‚ despite having been introduced many years ago‚ continue to be prevalent today. An early example of the argument is within ‘Timaeus’‚ in which Plato proposed the idea that anything that has been created must be created by a cause. These arguments are intended to prove the existence of the God of Classical Theism by explaining that God must be the first cause of the universe; the being setting the world into
Premium Existence Cosmological argument Metaphysics