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Flashcards in The Ontological Argument Deck (42)
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0
Q

what does analytic mean?

A

ridiculous to think of as false/true but definition

1
Q

what is the ontological argument based on?

A

the statement ‘god exists’ being analytically true (therefore it is incoherent to reject god’s existence)

2
Q

what does synthetic mean?

A

degree of truth depends on collectable evidence

3
Q

where did anselm’s publish his 1st argument?

A

proslogian

4
Q

what did anselm quote in the proslogian? (1st argument)

A

Psalm 14.1 - “the fool says in his heart ‘there is no God’”.

5
Q

what is anselms reflection on psalm 14.1?

A

his ontological argument

6
Q

what is the first step in anselm’s ontological argument?

A

‘god is that than which nothing greater can be concieved’

7
Q

what is the second step in anselm’s ontological argument?

A

god can exist either in the mind alone (in intellectu) or in reality (in re) too

8
Q

what is the 3rd step in anselm’s ontological argument?

A

3) existing in the mind and reality is better than just in the mind (imagined existence)

9
Q

what is the 4th step in anselm’s ontological argument?

A

4) god must exists both ‘in intellectu’ and ‘in re’

10
Q

what is anselm’s first argument a reply to?

A

the fool, and assume the fool has an idea in his head of what god is (greatest possible being) that can be thought of

11
Q

why is it better to exist in the mind and in reality?

A

because these things have the added quality of existence

12
Q

who was gaulino?

A

benedictine monk who wrote ‘on behalf of the fool’

13
Q

what did gaulino argue?

A

that it is ‘unintelligible’ to say god cannot fail to exist

14
Q

what did gaulino say was impossible?

A

to ontologically prove the existence of god

15
Q

what does gaulino say about gossip?

A

the fool can thinkk of anything that doesn’t exist in reality - gossip is unreliable

16
Q

what does gaulino argue about defining things into existence?

A

you can’t demonstrate existence purely through an idea

17
Q

what was gaulino’s island analogy?

A

anyone can think of the perfect island but that doesn’t make it exist

18
Q

what does gaulino think is absurd to think?

A

that something exists purely because you have an idea of it. teller.believer of this analogy must be an actual fool

19
Q

what did anselm reply to gaulino saying?

A

god’s existence is necessary. the perfect island can be conceived to not exist

20
Q

what did alvin plantinga say?

A

no matter how perfect an island is, it can always be improved; it has no INTRINSIC MAXIMUM

21
Q

what did alvin plantinga say is impossible?

A

it is impossible for a being greater than god to exist, so you cannot compare it to an island which has no intrinsic maximum

22
Q

what was anselm’s second argument?

A

also in response to gaulino’s criticisms

23
Q

what is the 1st point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

A

1)’god is that than which nothing greater can be concieved’

24
Q

what is the 2nd point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

A

something which cannot be thought not to exist is greater than something which can

25
Q

what is the 3rd point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

A

it is impossible to think that this being cannot exist

26
Q

what is the 4th point in anselm’s 2nd argument?

A

this being we call god

27
Q

what can we conclude from anselm’s 2nd argument?

A

it is impossible for god not to exist = god must exist. it is a philisophical and logical contradiction to say ‘god doesn’t exist’

28
Q

what is necessary existence?

A

when something has to exist and cannot fail to exist. it exists by necessity

29
Q

what is contingence?

A

a contingent thing must refer on something else in order to fully explain its existence

30
Q

what does anselm say about god and necessary/contingent existence?

A

god must necessarily exist because if he depended on something else for his existence, he would be less great than a necessary being

31
Q

where does descartes ontological argument come from?

A

‘meditation on philosophy’ - given in meditation 5

32
Q

what does descartes say showing god’s existence is about?

A

it is about showing there is no reason to doubt god’s existence

33
Q

what did descartes say about triangles?

A

nature of a triangle is that it has three sides and three internal angles adding up to 180 degrees - it is a triangle regardless of whether we have an idea of the nature or not

34
Q

what is a predicate of god?

A

existence

35
Q

summary of descartes argument

A

1) god is a supremely perfect being
2) existence is a perfection
3) god, being perfect, must logically exist

36
Q

what is existence to descartes?

A

existence is a perfection - something not lacking any ‘good’ quality. something cannot be perfect unless it exists in reality

37
Q

what does descartes say god and existence go together like?

A

the mountain and the valley

38
Q

why should we believe?

A

1) by studying the biblical idea of god, it is clear that perfection existence is part of god’s nature
2) existence is a perfection - god, the ‘supremely perfect being’, must exist

39
Q

evaluation :kant and others

A

existence is not a predicate - one can imagine a unicorn but that doesn’t mean it exists in reality. existence is a part of the concept of god, but this isn’t evidence for god’s existence in reality

40
Q

what are all philosophical statements about existence?

A

synthetic - god’s existence must be verified

41
Q

although the concept of a necessary being is explainable by logic, what doesn’t it make it?

A

a reality