Explain Anselm’s Ontological Argument Essay Example for Free

Explain Anselms Ontological Argument Es putExplain Anselms ontological competition.The ontological argument was put away at first as a prayer by the eleventh century monk and philosopher Anselm of Canterbury. In his Proslogion, which means discourse, he presented this argument as a prayer for believers to substantiate their belief in graven image. Anselm uses a priori (which means before catch) reasoning, which conveys that it does not rely or depend on experience and so an argument of this sort is more plausible and likely to intrigue and attract philosophers, by not depending on experience or acquaintances it fanny be understood and derived purely from logic. Furthermore its truth doesnt depend on anything apart from logic and can be deduced purely from the meaning of the words used in the argument. The ontological argument uses deductive reasoning, which means its conclusion is contained within the premises presented, and if one accepts these premises to be align then one must(prenominal) accept that the conclusion is also correct an argument of this sort would be 1. Men are all mortal.2. Ren Descartes was a man.3. Consequently Ren Descartes is mortal.From this example if we accept the premises (12) then logically we must accept the conclusion (3) so in some form this argument presents a justify of the truth of the conclusion. Anselms argument express correction is that than which zip fastener greater can be conceived, by greater he means perfect and by conceived he means to think of, so we can put in other words paragon is that than which nothing more perfect can be estimate of. When Anselm first wrote this in the Proslogion, his intentions for this were not for it to be used as an argument to prove Gods dwellence notwithstanding just a mere prayer for believers, but due to his belief solely on reason and logic it has become popular and has overcome the test of time as it is still relevant today and is beingness studied.The argument can take this form1. God is that than which nothing more perfect can be thought of. 2. Even a fool can ensure this definition. (By fool Anselm some likely meant someone who does not believe in beau ideal, and so he said this to show thatthis argument is nothing of a complex sort but of a simple record which can be comprehended by anyone, even a fool as Anselm said.) 3. This fool says that god ceases to exist in globe, merely as an idea. 4. It is greater to exist both in the consciousness and in reality, than essentially just in the understanding. 5. The sterling(prenominal) possible being, for it to be the superior must truly exist in both modes reality and understanding.6. Hence god does exist both in reality and in the understanding therefore we can also conclude that the fool in reality is actually a fool. (The fool is denying the existence of the greatest possible being, this being must exist for it to be the greatest possible being, and if he wasnt the greatest possible be ing then surely we could conceive of something greater.) Anselm starts the argument with a definition, and uses this definition to prove god into existence, however this argument relies on a particular definition and abridgment of a particular one. There are two fundamental and paramount facets to this argument one is the understanding of the definition, this is an integral part of the argument, because the argument arises from this start point, and also that it is greater to exist both in reality and in understanding.Anselm understood god in an analytical sense, analytic sense is where the whole meaning of a word or statement is transferred through the words only, like for example, Tom has a brother, you wouldnt say he has a brother who is a male because the fact that he is a male is already conveyed through the meaning of the word brother. And so likewise, Anselm understood god in the same way, so it isnt incumbent to say god, you know exists the aspect of existence is already g iven away from the word god, and so in a way could be perceived as inseparable from god.This argument mentioned hitherto was put up in Proslogion 2, which tried to prove gods existence. A contemporary of his, Gaunilo of Marmoutier who was a monk and also a theist, replied to Anselms Proslogion, with a work titled On Behalf of the Fool, he was truly also a Christian and had a firm belief in god, but he rejected the jump from the definition that god is the greatest being to the conclusion that he must exist. Gaunilo claimed that through Anselms reasoning we can potentially prove anything one wishes intoexistence by proposing its the greatest thing or maximally perfect in its calibre.He used the example of an Island, that if we were to say that there existed an island which was the most excellent and possessed an unmeasured wealth, we can easily understand this even a fool can comprehend this. And therefore it is the most excellent, and it is more excellent to exist both in reality a nd in understanding moreover this island must exist. He argued even a fool is right to be sceptical about Anselms argument, as evidence is required for a matter as great as god. Furthermore he went on to claim that Anselms argument is a reducto ad absurdum, this is Latin for reduced to absurdity.As Anselm was aware of this condemnation during his lifetime, he wrote a Reply to Gaunilo, in this he defends his argument and draws up another(prenominal) aspect. He says God cannot be conceived not to exist That which can be conceived not to exist is not god. This introduces another matter Anselm asks whether a god is greater who can be thought of as not exist or a god which cannot be thought of not existing. Furthermore he claims that it is a contradiction for a god who can be thought of not existing if he truly is the greatest possible.Anselm created a dichotomy between the concepts of things necessary and contingent existences. Anselm himself didnt use these aforementioned terms hims elf but were later applied by philosophers but Anselm did split the two as he described the island as somatogenetic and therefore he could easily propose that it could cease to exist due to other physical causes like for example the sea levels rising could eradicate the island completely. However he said that it is impossible to say the greatest being not existing or ceasing to exist, and then surely it would not be the greatest being.Necessary existences do not depend on any other thing for it to exist, as it is the greatest thing so it is not predisposed to anything else. On the other hand, contingent existences do depend on other things and also there was a time when they didnt exist, like for example humans, who are a perfect example of a contingent being. However Anselm argued that god was a necessary being, and it cannot be thought of as not existing, it has always exists and always will. It is rather hard to conceive of another necessary being or existenceapart from this.An selm put forward this proposition in Proslogion 3, that god has a necessary existence, and this is the type of god that he is, in this way Anselm shows that Gaunilo was a fool as he didnt understand the type of god that Anselm discussed.