And disputed religious arguments of all of philosophy

But what is all this hoo-hah about

Well the ontological argument was first thought up

By Saint Anselm of Canterbury

Who one day while thinking

Over the kind of things that saints think of

Concluded that God must exist

This is because Anselm states

That everyone knows that God is a being so great

That no greater being can be thought of

Therefore if you think of God

You are thinking of a being

In which no greater being can be thought of

However Anselm concludes that God must exist in reality

Because if he existed only in your mind

Then you would not be thinking of a being

In which no greater being can be thought of

Because it is greater to exist in reality than in the mind

Basically Anselm is presenting the argument like this

Premise one

Everyone knows that God is a being

In which no greater being can be thought of

Premise Two

It is greater to exist in reality than just in the mind

Premise Three

Therefore if you think of God he must exist in reality

Otherwise you are not thinking of God

Conclusion

God exists

At one point this argument

Was thought to the ultimate proof for God

However since that time many philosophers have come along

And have moved the argument onto the philosophical scrap heap

One of the main arguments against Anselm's ontological argument

Is raised by Thomas Aquinas

Who argues that God's essence can not be known

This means that we can not say that

God is a being

In which no greater being can be thought of

Resulting in Anselm's argument being rendered useless

The French Monk

Gaunilo

Also criticised Anselm's argument

By suggesting that the same argument

Could be used to prove his idea of a perfect island.

For instance

Premise One

I am thinking if a perfect island

In which no greater island can be thought of

Premise Two

It is greater for the island to exist in reality than the mind

Premise Three

Therefore, if I am thinking of this island

Then it must exist in reality

Otherwise I am not thinking of my perfect island

Conclusion

My perfect island exists

These arguments thus suggest that maybe Anselm

Should have been questioning the existence of his brain

Rather than the existence of God.

Thank you for watching and as always I hope you enjoyed the video

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