Explain The Ontological Argument From Anselm And Gaunilo's Objections To It

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Explain the Ontological Argument from

Anselm and Gaunilo’s objections to it

Around 1093, the monk Anselm came up with the Ontological Argument; an argument which is Analytic, Deductive and A Priori. In a deductive argument, all the premises are valid, and there are no mistakes in the logic. If you agree with the logic of every premise, then the conclusion gives you proof.

If you are able to accept all the premises of Anselm’s Ontological Argument, then this gives you proof that God exists. This is the definition of a Deductive Argument.

Anselm splits the Ontological Argument into two sections; demonstrating God’s existence, and defining what particular existence God must have. These arguments are found in Anselm’s book of prayers Proslogian, chapters two and three.

In his first argument, Anselm does not try to prove the existence of God, but attempts to demonstrate it. Anselm explains that the word God is Analytic; the meaning contained in the word God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’. When we see this, we accept it, and it is in our minds, In Intellectu. It is better for something to be both in our minds, In Intellectu, and in reality, In Re, than for it to just be in our minds. Because God is ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’, he must exist in both the mind and in reality. Therefore by definition, De Dicta, God exists in reality, thus demonstrating the existence of God.

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To grasp the idea of In Intellectu and In Re, the example of a painting is used. For many artists, such as Pablo Picasso or Vincent Van Gogh, they would first imagine and plan out what they would wish to paint. By popular agreement, it would be greater for their paintings to exist not only in their minds, but in reality for others to grasp.  

The main strategy Anselm uses to get people to accept his argument more is by using Reductio Ad Absurdum; reducing the opposing argument to present Anselm’s argument as the correct one.

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