The Tablet - Over the centuries a large number of philosophers and theologians have tried to argue that God's existence is somehow necessary. Descartes argued that the mere fact that we can talk about a supremely perfect being implies that that being exists, because perfection and existence somehow go together. Others such as Kant reject this kind of 'ontological' argument on the grounds that 'existence' is not a propoerty of something in the way that, say, redness is. Yet the ontological argument is still explored – partly, some say, more as a meditation than a purely philosophical exercise. There is only one major argument for God's existence that is a priori, deductive, and that was called the Ontological Argument by Immanuel Kant, though several versions of it predated Kant by centuries. St Anselm – anybody who doubts God's real existence is a fool The origins of the Ontological Argument are usually seen in the writings of St Anselm of Canterbury.
Gaunilo's riposte 'on behalf of the fool' 1. 1. 1. The%20Cosmological%20Arguments. Activity Detail. Revision:Teleological Argument. TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Philosophy > Teleological Argument The idea of God as creator and designer of the world is seen in the Bible, in passages such as Genesis 1.25 “God made all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds, and God saw that it was good.” The teleological argument, from the Greek ‘telos’, meaning end or purpose, aims to support this with evidence from the natural world, arguing that the existence and complexity of order, beauty and purpose in the world could not exist accidentally; it must have been designed by an intelligent and purposeful God, and that therefore God exists. Plato (427-347BCE) God ‘Demiurge’ couldn’t create matter ‘ex nihilo’ like Christian God, but could organise the pre-existing matter (‘anake’) into the logical order that we see around us in the world today.
Aristotle (384-322BCE) Everything has a final cause (‘telos’), the ultimate cause was the “Prime Mover.” Cicero (106-43BCE) Derham Flew. Revision:The Cosmological Argument. TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Philosophy > The Cosmological Argument Cosmological arguments (from the Greek ‘cosmos’ meaning ‘the universe’ and ‘logos’ meaning ‘knowledge’) for the existence of God attempt to answer the question “what was it then that determined something to exist rather than nothing?” (Hume), using a posteriori evidence about cause and effect to infer that God must have started the chain of events that makes up the universe – “in the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.”
(Gen 1.1) The primary argument was set out by Aquinas (1225-1274) in ‘Summa Theologica’ as the third of his ‘five ways’ for the existence of God, and has since been developed by theologians such as Leibniz and Copleston. Plato (428-348BCE) ‘Laws’ Primary (can move themselves and others) and secondary movers (can only be moved by others, ultimate source of change).Only souls can be primary movers, and so “it is the soul which controls heaven and earth.” 1st way. Revision:The Ontological Argument. TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Philosophy > The Ontological Argument The Ontological Argument is one of five classical arguments for the existence of God. It moves from a definition of God as being “that than which nothing greater can be conceived” to a proof of God, using a priori logic.
It was formulated primarily by St. Anselm (1033-1109), but remains a relevant philosophical discussion today. +Anselm (1033-1109) ‘Proslogion’ (1st formulation) God is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived” (“aliquid quo nihil maius cogitari possit”) (Findlay – must be this to be an object worthy of worship). -Gaunilo ‘On Behalf of the Fool’ Just because we can conceive a perfect island, doesn’t mean such a place exists, this is ‘absurd’.
+Anselm responds (2nd formulation) +Plantinga Also argues that unlike God, islands have no “intrinsic maximum” because you could always add another beach etc. +Descartes (1596-1650) ‘Meditations’ Develops Anselm. -Bishop Berkeley. Revision:Moral Argument for the existence of God. TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > A Level Religious Studies Revision Notes > Moral Argument for the existence of God The Moral Argument suggests that God is the best solution to the question as to why we feel that we should behave morally. One thing to note however is that Aquinas nor Kant set out in their works to create the moral argument for God existence but what they said fits well with the Moral Argument St Thomas Aquinas In his 4th way Aquinas argues that as humans we experience things that are good, true, noble and valuable. These things must take their reality from things that are good, true, noble and valuable.
Infinte regression is not possible so there must be something which is the most good, true, noble and valuable. This is what we call God. Immanuel Kant Kant believed in an ultmate end called the supreme good. He also rejects any theoretical arguments to prove God's existence. Quote Cardinal John Newman Robert Adams Critcisms Brian Davis Comments.