Descartes Ontological Argument Flashcards
Outline Descartes Argument in logical formulation.
P1- God is a supremely perfect being.
P2- Existence is a perfection.
C1- Therefore God must exist.
How does Kant respond to Descartes argument?
Kant claims that existence isn’t a property something has.
It therefore can’t be used to define the validity of a concept or theory as supposedly bolstering an argument because something exists.
“Existence is not a predicate.” - Kant
What is the problem with premise one?
There are many aspects to God which people would argue prevent him from being a perfect being, such as his enabling of horrific acts within the universe.
His trait of Omnibenevolence would be compromised because he wouldn’t be acting lovingly in situations when his Omnipotence would give him full agency to change the situation to benefit the greatest number of people.
How would Descartes respond to the issue raised within premise one?
God may be supremely perfect within himself, but this isn’t altered by his actions or those he allows.
This depends on whether we classify something as good by its inherent characteristics or the actions of the entity.
Is an apple good because of the health-beneficial chemicals contained within it or it is only good when consumed because that’s when these can be applied and directly benefit an entity within the universe.
