St. Anselm (1033-1109) put forward a fairly straightforward argument in answer to the question: Does God exist? It is one of the classical arguments in Western philosophy. Just follow the cues to discover what his argument is.
1.
Start. Go to 2, 3, 4.
2. (from 1)
When an artist plans a work, the work exists in his understanding. When the artist executes his plan, the work exists in reality.
Go to 5.
3. (from 1)
God is a being "than which nothing greater can be conceived". [conceived = thought]
Combine with 5, go to 6. Also go weakly to 8.
4. (from 1)
A being that cannot be thought not to exist is greater than a being that can be thought not to exist.
Combine with 7, go to 8.
5. (from 2)
[Therefore] There is a difference between an object being in the understanding, and an object being in existence.
Combine with 3, go to 6.
6. (from 3 & 5)
Once one hears and comprehends this, God exists in the understanding.
Go to 7.
7. (from 6)
If God exists only in the understanding, then it is possible to think of a being that exists also in reality.
Combine with 4, go to 8.
8. (from 4 & 7)
This makes God not a being "than which nothing greater can be conceived". This is impossible (by hypothesis in 3).
Go to 9.
9. (from 8)
Therefore, a being "than which nothing greater can be conceived" must exist both in the understanding and in reality. This is God. God exists.
Go to 10.
10. (from 9)
End.
Primary source:
"Saint Anselm of Canterbury: The Ontological Argument" in Nicholas Capaldi (ed) et al, Journeys Through Philosophy, Prometheus Books, 1982, pp. 369-70.
[St. Anselm was the Italian-born Archbishop of Canterbury.]
Postscript on method
Most philosophy is written in prose. While this makes for fluent reading, it also makes the argument extremely opaque in both content and flow. Presenting the argument in syllogisms is fully transparent, but is extremely tedious both to write and read. This is my compromise mode of presentation. I call it "programmed philosophy".
Showing posts with label philosophy of religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy of religion. Show all posts
Friday, 4 July 2008
Thursday, 22 May 2008
An eclectic conversation
This is a report of the philosophy cafe session on 21 May 2008.
Philosophy cafe sessions are held on the third Wednesday of each month at Gone Fishing Cafe, 15 Chu Lin Road. Participation is free of charge. All are welcome. The next philosophy cafe session will be on June 18.
The great misfortune of the evening is that it clashed with the "Final 2" of American Idol. Attendance is minimal. So we just had an eclectic conversation. Here are some snippets.
Near death experiences
"I trust my aunts. And they've had near death experiences, where they saw white lights, people calling out to them etc."
"Have you considered the possibility that their interpretation of their experiences is a function of their beliefs? And now they're using these experiences as proof of their beliefs? It's all rather circular. Also, what about revelatory experiences of people of other belief systems?"
"But in one such experience, one of the visions said he was God. Surely God does not lie?"
"How do you define God? Do you define God as Someone who always tells the truth? If so, then any vision calling itself God will be accepted as God. On the other hand, if God is not defined as Someone who always tells the truth, then certainly God can tell a lie. For example, Zeus is a god, and Zeus can tell lies."
Materialism vs Idealism
"Is materialism or idealism true?
"What are these?"
"Materialism is the belief that everything is matter; whereas idealism is the belief that everything is ideas."
"If everything is matter, than what is an idea? Neurons and electrical impulses? We are looking at this cup. Do we have the exact same electrical impulses firing?"
"Seems rather hard to believe. Then it's idealism? But where do ideas exist?"
"Plato says ideas exist in the World of Being; whereas we exist in the world of Becoming. We have ideas when we remember the World of Being and the perfect Forms that exist there."
Scientific disproof
"What does it mean to say science works by disproof?"
"That is based on the argument form known as Modus Tollens. Say we have a Theory P. From this theory, we derive some experimental implication Q. We perform the experiment. The results are not as expected. We conclude that Theory P is false. This is what is meant by science works by disproof. This view of science was first put forward by the philosopher Karl Popper.
Philosophy cafe sessions are held on the third Wednesday of each month at Gone Fishing Cafe, 15 Chu Lin Road. Participation is free of charge. All are welcome. The next philosophy cafe session will be on June 18.
The great misfortune of the evening is that it clashed with the "Final 2" of American Idol. Attendance is minimal. So we just had an eclectic conversation. Here are some snippets.
Near death experiences
"I trust my aunts. And they've had near death experiences, where they saw white lights, people calling out to them etc."
"Have you considered the possibility that their interpretation of their experiences is a function of their beliefs? And now they're using these experiences as proof of their beliefs? It's all rather circular. Also, what about revelatory experiences of people of other belief systems?"
"But in one such experience, one of the visions said he was God. Surely God does not lie?"
"How do you define God? Do you define God as Someone who always tells the truth? If so, then any vision calling itself God will be accepted as God. On the other hand, if God is not defined as Someone who always tells the truth, then certainly God can tell a lie. For example, Zeus is a god, and Zeus can tell lies."
Materialism vs Idealism
"Is materialism or idealism true?
"What are these?"
"Materialism is the belief that everything is matter; whereas idealism is the belief that everything is ideas."
"If everything is matter, than what is an idea? Neurons and electrical impulses? We are looking at this cup. Do we have the exact same electrical impulses firing?"
"Seems rather hard to believe. Then it's idealism? But where do ideas exist?"
"Plato says ideas exist in the World of Being; whereas we exist in the world of Becoming. We have ideas when we remember the World of Being and the perfect Forms that exist there."
Scientific disproof
"What does it mean to say science works by disproof?"
"That is based on the argument form known as Modus Tollens. Say we have a Theory P. From this theory, we derive some experimental implication Q. We perform the experiment. The results are not as expected. We conclude that Theory P is false. This is what is meant by science works by disproof. This view of science was first put forward by the philosopher Karl Popper.
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