Anselm's Ontological Argument

A detailed Summary of Anselm's Ontological Argument


As a theologian and philosopher, Saint Anselm strove to prove the existence of God in reality. The bulk of his argument is found in Chapter II of Proslogium.

Anselm begins by defining God as "a being than which nothing greater can be conceived". He continues by stating that "even a fool" has the capacity to understand this definition of God and that whatever is understood exists in the understanding. Anselm now draws his first intermediate inference based on these initial premises; God must exist in the understanding, and is therefore a possible being. Aneselm next draws on the premise that if something exists in reality, it is greater than if it exists in the understanding alone. At this point in his argument Anselm switches tactics and supposes that God exists only in the understanding. Based on the former premise this would mean that is possible that God (had He existed in reality) might have been greater than He is (existing only in the understanding). Based on that supposition, God is not the being than which


none greater is possible. If Anselm's initial definition of God is substituted into the previous inference, it becomes a contradictory statement: the being than which none greater is possible is not the being than which none greater is possible. Therefore Anselm supposition that God exists only in the understanding is false. By proving this to be invalid Anselm has, in effect, proven that God must exist in the understanding and reality. This final conclusion, that God must exist in reality, is the goal of Anselm's argument.

Chapters III, and IV of Proslogium support Anselm argument by explaining in depth the definition of God. He asserts that nothing greater can be conceived that is not God and that if a mind could conceive of a being better than God, that creature would rise above God. In Chapter V Anselm proceeds to deduce God's nature from the same basic definition of Him as something greater than which cannot be thought. He arrives as all the standard attributes: "just, truthful, blessed, and whatever it is b

Some common words found in the essay are:
Immanuel Kant, Proslogium Anselm, Chapter Anselm, IV Proslogium, Saint Anselm, exists understanding, exists reality, definition god, exist understanding, , god exist, understanding contingent contingent, god exist understanding, premise exists reality, reality exists understanding, supposition god, characteristic property, kant's objection, anselm's premise, exists reality exists, premise exists,

Approximate Word count = 694
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • St. Anselmamp39s ontological argument for the experience of God. St. Anselmamp39s ontological argument for the experience of God. Godamp39s existence may vary from philosopher to philosopher, but according to the late St. ... 346 words
  • Anselm, The Ontological Argument Anselm, The Ontological Argument: A convincing proof to Godamp39s existence Anselmamp39s definition of God starts by saying that God is ... 525 words
  • Chapter 2. of Ontological Argument ... to understand St. Anselmamp39s ontological argument. Which is as follows: God is by definition the greatest being possible. A being ... 563 words
  • The Ontoligical Argument ... exists. Anselm used the ontological argument, proposing that if God could be thought of and perceived, then God has to exist. At ... 983 words
  • the existance of god ... thought into our mind Strong. The third version of the Ontological Argument comes from Saint Anselm. Anselmamp39s main argument is ampquota ... 1113 words

Professional Essays

  • Ontological Argument For Godamp39s Existence ... This is the essential structure of the ontological argument. To this argument, Anselmamp39s contemporary, the monk Gaunilo, made the following response: It is ... 526 words
  • The Existence of God The spine of the ontological argument comes in Anselmamp39s description of God as ampquotwhatever it is better to be than not to be.ampquot His point of departure is the ... 1363 words
  • Skepticism I. INTRODUCTION 1. Objective of essa ... 9596. Descartes reformulated Anselmamp39s ontological argument so that it is assumed that existence is a property or predicate. And ... 2097 words
  • The existence of God: A discussion ... Benedictine Order. It was Anselm who developed the ontological argument of the existence of God. Anselm quotes Psalms xiv. 1 at ... 1479 words
  • St. Anselm ... saint. Anselm is best known for an ontological argument for the existence of God, an argument that is still debated. Another of ... 2711 words
  • Theological Concepts FRPN F ... Thomas Aquinas, the foremost Catholic apologist, rejects ampquotout of handampquot Anselmamp39s ontological proof, only to use the Aristotelian argument toward the existence ... 8339 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.