Question 1

The ontological argument was first set forth in the twentieth century.

Accepted Answer

The ontological argument was first proposed by St. Anselm of Canterbury in the 11th century.

Question 2

In the reading in the text, Anselm expressed the ontological argument in the form of a prayer.

Accepted Answer

Anselm's ontological argument is indeed presented in the form of a prayer, specifically in his work "Proslogion," where he seeks to demonstrate the existence of God through a priori reasoning, addressing God directly in his discourse.

Question 3

Anselm's critic, Gaunilo, claimed he could conceive of the greatest possible island.

Accepted Answer

Gaunilo, a contemporary of Anselm, used the example of conceiving the greatest possible island to criticize Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God, arguing that just because one can conceive of something does not mean it exists in reality.

Question 4

Some philosophers reply to Gaunilo's objection by saying that some properties do not have intrinsic maximums.

Accepted Answer

Gaunilo's objection to Anselm's ontological argument for God's existence involves the analogy of a perfect island, suggesting that if Anselm's reasoning were valid, it could be used to prove the existence of a perfect island, which seems absurd. Some philosophers counter this by arguing that unlike the concept of God, which can be thought to possess maximal greatness or perfection inherently, the concept of an island (or similar entities) does not have properties that admit of intrinsic maximums in the same way, thus distinguishing the case of God from Gaunilo's analogy.

Question 5

According to the text, a list of the qualities of the perfect husband should include the property of existence.

Accepted Answer

The text does not provide any specific qualities of the perfect husband, including the property of existence.

Question 6

According to William Lawhead, Anselm had a second version of the argument in which necessary existence is a property of the greatest possible being.

Accepted Answer

William Lawhead does discuss Anselm's argument, noting that Anselm presented a second version in which he argues that necessary existence is a property that the greatest possible being must have, distinguishing this being's existence from merely contingent beings.

Question 7

One possible criticism discussed in the text of the second version of the ontological argument is to claim that God's existence is impossible.

Accepted Answer

This criticism argues that if one can conceive of God as a being than which none greater can be conceived, and yet also conceive of such a being as not existing, then the concept of God entails a contradiction, making God's existence impossible.

Question 8

According to the text, the ontological argument is important because&#10;A) it claims to be an a priori proof for the existence of God.&#10;B) it raises the problem of whether existence is a property and whether the notion of necessary existence is intelligible.&#10;C) it is religiously significant because it is the only traditional argument that establishes a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly benevolent.&#10;D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

The ontological argument is important for several reasons: it presents an a priori proof for God's existence, tackles the philosophical issue of existence as a property and the concept of necessary existence, and is unique among traditional arguments in defining a God with attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect benevolence.

Question 9

Gaunilo's point concerning the island is that&#10;A) if God is perfect, then it is possible for him to create a perfect island.&#10;B) the ontological argument could just as easily prove the necessary existence of a perfect island.&#10;C) it is impossible to conceive of the perfection of any being, whether this be God or an island.&#10;D) if one has never experienced a perfect island, then it is impossible to conceive of it.

Accepted Answer

Gaunilo's critique of Anselm's ontological argument uses the example of a perfect island to demonstrate that the logic used to prove the necessary existence of God could be applied to prove the existence of anything one could define as perfect, thus showing a flaw in the argument's reasoning.

Question 10

All of the following statements play a role in Anselm's argument except&#10;A) It is possible for there to be a greatest conceivable being.&#10;B) We can only know of God's existence through faith, but not through reason.&#10;C) An atheist or a fool cannot deny God's existence without having some concept of God.&#10;D) If it is possible to conceive of God's nonexistence, then the idea of God is not that of the greatest possible being.

Accepted Answer

Anselm's argument, known as the ontological argument, posits that God's existence can be proven through reason alone, not just through faith. This makes choice B incorrect as it contradicts Anselm's approach.

Question 11

Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument was that it&#10;A) treats &#34;existence&#34; as a property like &#34;blue.&#34;&#10;B) assumes that the Christian God is the only possible one.&#10;C) does not explain who caused God.&#10;D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of Immanuel Kant's objection to Anselm's argument was...

Question 12

According to the viewpoint of the text, ________ would be a first-order property and _______ would be a second-order property.&#10;A) existence / blue&#10;B) blue / existence&#10;C) existence / being&#10;D) being / existence

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the viewpoint of the text,...

Question 13

The text claimed that the argument from necessary existence doesn't work because&#10;A) the notion of necessary existence is vague.&#10;B) God should not be conceived of as a necessary being.&#10;C) no existing being could be necessary.&#10;D) it could prove the necessary existence of the worst possible being.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The text claimed that the argument from...

Question 14

How do the two versions of the ontological argument differ? Why do some think the second argument avoids the difficulties of the first?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do the two versions of the...

Question 15

Both Gaunilo and the text claim that Anselm's argument would allow us to prove the existence of absurd things. Discuss this objection to the ontological argument. Do you think the objection is correct or could Anselm refute it? How so?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Both Gaunilo and the text claim that...

Question 16

Explain why some philosophers argue that existence is not a property. If this claim is correct, how does it affect Anselm's argument?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain why some philosophers argue that existence...

Question 17

How does the ontological argument differ from the other arguments for God discussed in the text? Include in your discussion the following issues: (1) the a priori--a posteriori distinction and (2) the issue of whether the arguments prove the existence of a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. How does Anselm's argument stand on these two issues?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How does the ontological argument differ from...

Deck 7: The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God