Explain Descartes' version of the Ontological argument and Kant's objection to it.
Explain Descartes' version of the Ontological argument and Kant's objection to it.
This argument follows from the "a priori" view as it proceeds from the idea of God. "A priori" means 'prior to experience' the opposite to "a posteriori" which is a view for proofs based on experience. The word "Ontological" actually means 'concerned with being.' This argument for the existence of God was first started by Anselm, then developed by Descartes.
The Ontological argument presents the view that when the concept of God is analysed, it is clear that existence is already present within the concept.
A proposition such as this one is called an "analytic" statement which means that the predicate is already part of the subject. An analytic statement does not add new information to the statement but just helps to make it clearer. One example of an analytic statement is "A triangle has three angles." The predicate- 'has three angles' is already in the subject- 'triangle.' Just like this statement, the existence of God is self-evident. Statements which are analytic and incorporate existence in them are called 'analytic existential propositions.'
This argument follows from the "a priori" view as it proceeds from the idea of God. "A priori" means 'prior to experience' the opposite to "a posteriori" which is a view for proofs based on experience. The word "Ontological" actually means 'concerned with being.' This argument for the existence of God was first started by Anselm, then developed by Descartes.
The Ontological argument presents the view that when the concept of God is analysed, it is clear that existence is already present within the concept.
A proposition such as this one is called an "analytic" statement which means that the predicate is already part of the subject. An analytic statement does not add new information to the statement but just helps to make it clearer. One example of an analytic statement is "A triangle has three angles." The predicate- 'has three angles' is already in the subject- 'triangle.' Just like this statement, the existence of God is self-evident. Statements which are analytic and incorporate existence in them are called 'analytic existential propositions.'
