History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 205 - Somebody's Perfect - Anselm's Ontological Argument
Jan 4, 2015
Exploring Anselm's famous ontological argument for God's existence and the objections raised. Anselm's reasoning on the cause of goodness and the limitations of human comprehension. The counterargument of the perfect island and Kant's perspective on existence as a property.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
The Perfect Nonexistent Island
- Peter Adamson recounts an enticing description of a perfect island he almost booked a vacation to.
- He reveals the island's fatal flaw: it doesn't exist, introduced as Gounilo's parody of Anselm's proof.
Ambition Of Anselm's Single Proof
- Anselm's ontological argument is the medieval period's most famous philosophical contribution and draws intense critique.
- It aims to persuade even the atheist 'fool' by deriving God's existence from a single powerful reasoning pattern.
Definition Yields Attributes
- Anselm defines God as 'that than which nothing greater can be conceived' to derive many divine attributes.
- From this definition he intends to infer goodness, power, justice, eternity and more.