Philosophies on the Existence of God
Philosophies on the Existence of God
Aquinas, Anselm, Paley and Kant all famous philosophers, have proven that god exists; yet people still question God’s existence.
As Anselm said, “We are like students who, unable to solve a mathematical problem, are given the answer to it and then discover they can reason out why that answer is correct.” For thousands of years, philosophers have given evidence proving the existence of God. The evidence at hand should prevail but some philosophers beg to differ. In this paper I will try to go over and give the best arguments to both sides, but in the end, like I, all non-believers will believe.
I will start off by discussing the evidence and opinions of Saint Anselm. St. Anselm was one of the greatest thinkers of the Middle Ages and became known for being an “ontological arguer.” An ontological argument is an argument, for the conclusion that God exists, from premises, which are supposed to derive from some source “other than the observation of the world.” Anselm proposed the first and most popular of these arguments in the 11th century AD. These famous arguments are recorded in his Proslogion. He expresses his opinions on the existence of God, and says no greater being can be conceived than God himself. He argues that nothing can be greater than a being “than which no greater can be conceived.” While his theories are not the easiest to believe, philosophers are still fascinated with his work and give him the most amount of respect. What amazes philosophers the most about Anselm is his ability to combine the roles of saint, ecclesiastical leader, and major philosopher. Anselm’s famous Proslogion mentions that the idea of the perfect being cannot be separated “from its existence.” To put it in simple fashion, the first version of his argument says the following three main points:
1)“The term God describes the greatest conceivable being.”
2)“ Existence in reality is greater than mere existence in the understanding.”
3)“Therefore, God must exist in reality, not just in the understanding.”
Heres an example of the ideas Anselm provides which may make it easier to understand.
Major Premise: The extra mental EXISTENCE of X is a greater perfection than the IDEA of X.
Minor Premise: God is a ‘something than which nothing greater can be thought”.
Conclusion: God must exist.
There is a weakness to this argument. Like I mentioned...