What is the ontological argument for the existence of God?
As an “a priori” argument, the Ontological Argument tries to “prove” the existence of God by establishing the necessity of God’s existence through an explanation of the concept of existence or necessary being . Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury first set forth the Ontological Argument in the eleventh century.
Can existence be treated as a predicate?
Can existence be treated as a predicate? necessary existence is a characteristic that draws a distinction between God and everything else, just like Gods 3 o’s and eternalness are predicates. Necessary existence is a distinguishing characteristic which sets God apart and therefore can be used as a predicate.
How is existence a predicate?
That some philosophers have taken the word ” existence ” to stand for a predicate in the logical sense, i.e., for an attribute, may be seen from their use of the ontological argument to prove the existence of God. * The Philosophical Works of Descartes, ed.
Where does Kant say existence is not a predicate?
In Only Possible Ground Kant objects to the ontological argument that “existence is not a predicate or a determination of a thing” (2:72) and in the first Critique he writes that “being is obviously not a real predicate” (A598/B626).
What does it mean that existence is not a predicate?
When Kant asserted that “existence is not a real predicate”, what he meant was that existence cannot be an essential property of anything (that it was an inherently accidental property), and therefore cannot be an essential property of God. Kant meant that existence was similar to, say, location.
Why is existence not a predicate?
Kant goes on to write, “‘being’ is evidently not a real predicate” and cannot be part of the concept of something. He proposes that existence is not a predicate, or quality. This is because existence does not add to the essence of a being, but merely indicates its occurrence in reality.
What is the source of existence?
In Aristotle’s Metaphysics, there are four causes of existence or change in nature: the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause and the final cause.
What does it mean existence is not a predicate?
What is Anselm’s ontological argument?
Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that God exists, from premises which are supposed to derive from some source other than observation of the world—e.g., from reason alone. Anselm claims to derive the existence of God from the concept of a being than which no greater can be conceived.