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Philosophy

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	An <OpenstaxTerm>ontological argument</OpenstaxTerm> for God was proposed by the Italian philosopher, monk, and Archbishop of Canterbury <OpenstaxTerm>Anselm</OpenstaxTerm> (1033–1109). Anselm lived in a time where belief in a deity was often assumed. He, as a person and as a prior of an abbey, had experienced and witnessed doubt. To assuage this doubt, Anselm endeavored to prove the existence of God in such an irrefutable way that even the staunchest of nonbelievers would be forced, by reason, to admit the existence of a God.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Anselm’s proof is <OpenstaxEm>a priori</OpenstaxEm> and does not appeal to empirical or sense data as its basis. Much like a proof in geometry, Anselm is working from a set of “givens” to a set of demonstrable concepts. Anselm begins by defining the most central term in his argument—God. For the purpose of this argument, Anselm suggests, let “God” = “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.” He makes two key points:
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxOl>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		When we speak of God (whether we are asserting God is or God is not), we are contemplating an entity who can be defined as “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
	</OpenstaxLi>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		When we speak of God (either as believer or nonbeliever), we have an intramental understanding of that concept—in other words, the idea is within our understanding.
	</OpenstaxLi>
</OpenstaxOl>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Anselm continues by examining the difference between that which exists in the mind and that which exists both in the mind and outside of the mind. The question is: Is it greater to exist in the mind alone or in the mind and in reality (or outside of the mind)? Anselm asks you to consider the painter—for example, define which is greater: the reality of a painting as it exists in the mind of an artist or that same painting existing in the mind of that same artist and as a physical piece of art. Anselm contends that the painting, existing both within the mind of the artist and as a real piece of art, is greater than the mere intramental conception of the work.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	At this point, a third key point is established:
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxOl>
	<OpenstaxLi>
		It is greater to exist in the mind and in reality than to exist in the mind alone. 
		<OpenstaxParagraph>
			Have you figured out where Anselm is going with this argument?
		</OpenstaxParagraph> 
		<OpenstaxOl>
			<OpenstaxLi>
				If God is a being than which nothing greater can be conceived (established in #1 above);
			</OpenstaxLi>
			<OpenstaxLi>
				And since it is greater to exist in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone (established in #3 above);
			</OpenstaxLi>
			<OpenstaxLi>
				Then God must exist both in the mind (established in #2 above) and in reality;
			</OpenstaxLi>
			<OpenstaxLi>
				In short, God must be. God is not merely an intramental concept but an extra-mental reality as well.
			</OpenstaxLi>
		</OpenstaxOl>
	</OpenstaxLi>
</OpenstaxOl>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00002" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/cfaf99cfd6614718c793c6461e953423439e64e5" alt="A printed etching, spotted with age, shows a robed and bearded figure wearing a mitre. The figure’s head is encircled by a halo. The figure holds up two fingers of one hand to a second figure, who is propped on their side on the ground. A stream of air rises from the second figure&#x27;s mouth." mediaType="image/jpeg" width="625" height="800" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="625">
	<strong>Figure 6.11</strong> Anselm’s proof for the existence of God is structured like a mathematical proof, working from a definition of the term “God” to the conclusion that God must exist. (credit: “S. Anselme, évêque de Cantorbéry (St. Anslem, Bishop of Canterbury), April 21st, from Les Images De Tous Les Saincts et Saintes de L&#x27;Année (Images of All of the Saints and Religious Events of the Year)” by Jacques Callot/The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain)
</OpenstaxFigureText>

6.3.3 The Ontological Argument for God

1 Introduction to Philosophy

1.1 What Is Philosophy?

1.1.1 Historical Origins of Philosophy

1.1.2 How It All Hangs Together

1.2 How Do Philosophers Arrive at Truth?

1.2.1 Sources of Evidence

1.2.2 Logic

1.2.3 Conceptual Analysis

1.2.4 Trade-offs

1.3 Socrates as a Paradigmatic Historical Philosopher

1.3.1 “The Life Which Is Unexamined Is Not Worth Living”

1.3.2 Human Wisdom Is Worth Little or Nothing

1.3.3 The Importance of Doing No Harm

1.4 An Overview of Contemporary Philosophy

1.4.1 What Can You Do with a Philosophy Major?

1.4.2 An Overview of Your Philosophy Textbook

2 Critical Thinking, Research, Reading, and Writing

2.1 The Brain Is an Inference Machine

2.1.1 The Brain’s Adaptive Ability to Plan Ahead

2.1.2 The Evolutionary Advantage of Shortcuts

2.2 Overcoming Cognitive Biases and Engaging in Critical Reflection

2.2.1 Critical Reflection and Metacognition

2.2.2 Cognitive Biases

2.3 Developing Good Habits of Mind

2.3.1 Strive for Objectivity

2.3.2 Adopt Epistemic Humility

2.4 Gathering Information, Evaluating Sources, and Understanding Evidence

2.4.1 Start with a Strong Foundation

2.4.2 The SIFT Method (Four Moves for Student Fact Checkers)

2.5 Reading Philosophy

2.5.1 Prepare to Read

2.5.2 Engaging with Philosophical Texts

2.5.3 Pre-reading

2.5.4 First Read

2.5.5 Close Read

2.6 Writing Philosophy Papers

2.6.1 Identify Claims

2.6.2 Collect Evidence and Build Your Case

2.6.3 Organize Your Paper

3 The Early History of Philosophy around the World

3.1 Indigenous Philosophy

3.1.1 Challenges in Researching Indigenous Philosophy

3.1.2 Indigenous African Philosophy

3.1.3 Indigenous North American Philosophical Thought

3.1.4 Mesoamerican Philosophy

3.2 Classical Indian Philosophy

3.2.1 The Vedic Tradition

3.2.2 Classical Indian Darshanas

3.3 Classical Chinese Philosophy

3.3.1 Early Chinese Philosophical Thought prior to Confucius

3.3.2 Confucianism

3.3.3 Daoism

3.3.4 Mohism

4 The Emergence of Classical Philosophy

4.1 Historiography and the History of Philosophy

4.1.1 Presentist Approach

4.1.2 Contextualist Approach

4.1.3 Hermeneutic Approach

4.2 Classical Philosophy

4.2.1 Egyptian Origins of Classical Philosophy

4.2.2 Ancient Greek Philosophy

4.2.3 The Presocratics

4.2.4 Socrates and Plato

4.2.5 Aristotle

4.2.6 Epicureans

4.2.7 Roman Philosophy

4.3 Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Philosophy

4.3.1 Defining Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Philosophy

4.3.2 Early Jewish Philosophy

4.3.3 Early Christian Philosophy

4.3.4 Islamic Philosophy

4.3.5 Late Medieval Philosophy in Christian Europe

4.3.6 Jewish Philosophers in the Christian and Islamic Worlds

4.3.7 The Rise of Reason in the Early Modern Era

5 Logic and Reasoning

5.1 Philosophical Methods for Discovering Truth

5.1.1 Dialectics and Philosophical Argumentation

5.1.2 The Use of Reason to Discover Truth

5.1.3 Testing Hypotheses

5.1.4 Laws of Logic

5.1.5 Normativity in Logic

5.2 Logical Statements

5.2.1 Conditionals

5.2.2 Universal Statements

5.3 Arguments

5.3.1 Getting to the Premises

5.3.2 The Difference between Truth and Logic

5.4 Types of Inferences

5.4.1 Deductive Reasoning

5.4.2 Inductive Inferences

5.4.3 Abductive Reasoning

5.5 Informal Fallacies

5.5.1 Fallacies of Relevance

5.5.2 Fallacies of Weak Induction

5.5.3 Fallacies of Unwarranted Assumption

5.5.4 Fallacies of Diversion

6 Metaphysics

6.1 Substance

6.1.1 Fundamentality: The One and the Many