Anselms Reductio Ad Absurdum for the Existence of God
Anselm posits that we can reduce the supposedly false assertion "God does not exist" into a contradiction, for it is false. You be the judge. I have spent several weeks examining this argument and have come to a verdict independent of stimulation from other critics.
God does not exist
God = Nothing can be Greater Conceived (NGC)
NGC does not exist
So NGC has being only in my understanding and not in reality
If NGC existed in reality too, it would be greater
So NGC is not NGC
So NGC cannot exist only in my understanding
NGC must exist in reality
God exists
God exists and God does not exist
Premise 1 must be false
God exists
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It most certainly is an argument, in the sense that it is a set of premises which purportedly give support to a conclusion. Yes, it sounds a little like maths, because logic and maths are two faces of the same general area of study. It's presented in a pretty informal manner here as far as logic is concerned, but it's clear enough that you get a good idea of what is being presented. Side: Tricky Argument
There are a gazillion ways to attack Anselm's ontological argument. A few off the top of my head: 1. Using his logic, one can "prove" the existence of anything as long as you claim that it is the greatest of its kind. 2. It begs the question by assuming God's existence when defining "God". 3. When a non-theist considers the being "God", they conceive it as an imaginary being, so this argument only proves that God is to be imagined to exist. 4. Existence is not a predicate. However you state your specific objection, I think the underlying intuition is that the ontological argument shouldn't be allowed to succeed - we don't want things to be defined into existence, and we don't find it convincing when someone does make such an attempt. It's fun as far as it is a riddle to solve, but for evangelical purposes it's useless. Side: Tricky Argument
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"Surely, your God can only exist in your understanding." Not if that God = Nothing can be Greater Conceived. For a God existing in reality would be greater than a God existing in undertanding. His essence, which Anslem conceived, implies his existence in reality. Side: Tricky Argument
"For a God existing in reality would be greater than a God existing in understanding." If a god exists in reality, it will also exist in understanding. However, a god existing in understanding doesn't equal to a god existing in reality, as this is not the greatest. In other words, you have to accept reality into your understanding, but reality doesn't have to accept your understanding. Side: Tricky Argument
This is a version of an argument I first heard several years ago. What it essentially says is that God is the greatest thing we can think of, and that a God that exists is greater than a God which doesn't exist, therefore God must exist because we can think of him. This is a fundamentally flawed argument for two reasons. 1.Thoughts are often wrong. That a God which exists is the greatest thing you can think of does not demonstrates that he does. 2. Through the logic you're using one could just as easily conclude that your premise is incorrect. This, like nearly all other arguments for the existence of God, is a very poor argument. Side: Flawed Argument
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