An Ontological Argument For The Existence Of God - 1430 Words

Within Part 9 of Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779), Hume has the character of Demea present an Ontological Argument for the existence of God. Demea attempts to argue that God’s existence can be proven wholly a priori and logically, rather than through the a posteriori design argument. A priori arguments say that if the reasoning is valid then the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises, which Demea argues is the case when it comes to the existence of god. The following essay will discuss Demea s standing, Cleanthes’ responses and what this all means for both the theory and Hume s own opinion. The basic argument that Demea puts forward is as follows; â€Å"whatever exists must have a cause or a reason for its existence; it is absolutely impossible for anything to produce itself, or be the cause of its own existence† (Hume (ed. Gaskin), 1988, P. 90) which means that nothing is uncaused, and so this either means that there is an infinite regression of causation or that there must be an uncaused cause which started the series of causation without being caused itself. Demea assumes that an infinite universe is absurd as this leaves the universe as a whole without a cause, and so it must be the case that there is a Prime Mover, which is God. Prime mover being language borrowed from Aristotle, as a necessary uncaused cause of the universe. The first criticism posed to Demea comes from Cleanthes who expresses â€Å"there is an evident absurdity in pretendingShow MoreRelatedThe Existence Of God : Ontological Argument Essay1696 Words   |  7 PagesThe question of the existence of God has troubled mankind for thousands of years. Many philosophers and theologians have always searched for prove whether God exists. Many of them constructed valid arguments which support theist believes. 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AnslemRead MoreThe Ontological Argument For The Existence Of God1509 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes’ ontological argument is an echo of the original ontological argument for the existence of God as proposed by St. Anselm in the 11th century. To illustrate the background of the ontological argument, Anselm’s argument works within a distinct framework of ontology that posits the existence of God as necessity by virtue of its definition. In other words, for the mind to conceive of an infinite, perfect God, ultimately implies that there must indeed be a perfect God that embodies existence, forRead MoreOntological Argument For The Existenc e Of God1083 Words   |  5 Pagesthis paper I will discuss the argument of Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. His basis of his argument being an analytical breakdown for the reason fot gods exsistence. 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The ontological argument argues thatRead MoreOntological Arguments for the Existence of God Essay1603 Words   |  7 Pagespresents his second argument for the existence of God. Descartes holds that existence is perfection and so, it can be a predicate for God. I will first explain what is the ontological argument for the existence of God. Next, I will discuss why Descartes decides to bring God into His method of philosophy. I will then try to argue that existence is a perfection and that as a predicate for God, existence reveal certain true about God. Ontological argument tries to prove the existence of God from a prioriRead MoreDescartes Ontological Argument For The Existence Of God1302 Words   |  6 Pages10/30/2014 Descartes’ Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The Ontological Argument for the existence of God is an a priori argument that aims to demonstrate that God’s real-world existence follows necessarily from the concept of God. In Meditation V of Discourse on Methods and Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes presents his version of the Ontological Argument for the existence of God. In this essay, I will argue that this argument fails because necessary existence for a concept doesRead MoreAnselm s Ontological Argument On The Existence Of God935 Words   |  4 PagesAnselm’s Ontological argument sets out to not only prove God’s existence, but to show that God’s existence is self-evident. Similar to other ontological arguments, it uses a priori knowledge to argue its validity, meaning that the propositions made are derived from internal reasoning instead of sense experience. The argument begins with Anselm defining the term God as â€Å"that, than which nothing greater can be conceived† (pg.26). Although simple, once this term is accepted Anselm believes he has successfullyRead MoreThe Major Features of the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God1021 Words   |  5 Pagesof the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument for the existence of God was originally set out in eleventh century by St. Anselm in his Proslogian. Anselm was a Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of the great medieval theologians. It has received a lot of both support and criticism from leaning philosophers. The argument is appeals to those who already believe in the existence of God than to an atheist. The argument is entirelyRead MoreValidity And Effectiveness Of Anselm s Ontological Argument On The Existence Of God1095 Words   |  5 PagesAnselm s Ontological Argument on the existence of God. I will begin by presenting Anselm’s Ontological Argument from the ground up. This includes the argument, basic idea, initial assumptions, Anselm’s definition of god, and Anselm s distinctions which are needed to completely understand the nature of my argument. Furthermore, I will present concepts of logic and define what makes an argument valid, and circular argument because they are necessary for understanding the validity of this argument. Following