John Greavu Mark Herr Philosophy 1002 12 November 2012 The Façade of the Teleological Argument In Accordance with David Hume’s “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion” The Teleological argument for the existence of God seems strikingly compelling at first glance‚ but greatly weakens once it becomes subjected to intense discourse. This argument‚ also referred to as the “design argument”‚ is an a posteriori argument claiming that through observation of the universe we can discover evidence of
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be true. What we take to be true is our reality.” -Gary Zukav If all of this is true‚ how do you perceive God? The most fascinating argument for the existence of an all-perfect God is the ontological argument. The argument that God‚ being defined as most great or perfect‚ must exist‚ since a God who exists is greater than a God who does not. The ontological arguments claim that once we understand
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Ontological Argument One of the most fascinating arguments for the existence of an all-perfect God is the ontological argument. Ontological arguments are arguments to prove the existence of God based on pure reason alone. They attempt to show that we can deduce God’s existence from‚ so to speak‚ the very definition of God. St. Anselm of Canterbury proposed the first and most well known ontological argument in 1078 in his Proslogion‚ but it was actually Immanuel Kant‚ an 18th century German philosopher
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Writing Assignment Number 2: The Ontological Argument Through the ontological argument‚ Anselm seeks to prove that God exists and he attempts to refute the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. This fool has two important characteristics: he understands the claim that God exists and he does not believe that God exists. Gaunilo plays the role of the “fool” and challenges Anselm’s ontological argument. I will argue that Anselm’s response to Gaunilo’s attack is not adequate
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The Ontological Argument: An explanation and critical assessment Phil 361 Lec 01 Professor: Reid Buchanan Ryley Braun‚ 10013764 April 16‚ 2010 The ontological argument is an attempt to refute skepticism of God and prove His existence through reason alone. The philosopher‚ Saint Anselm‚ presented his work on the ontological argument‚ or argument from reason‚ in his text the Proslogium. The argument‚ on the surface‚ is very logically convincing and attempts to allure even the skeptic of
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a) Explain key ideas in the Design Argument for the existence of God. (30 Marks) b) Assess the view that science has made the Design Argument a failure. (15 Marks) “With such signs of forethought in the design of living creature‚ can you doubt they are the work of choice or design?” (Socrates) The Design argument looks at the order and purpose‚ or telos‚ in the world and states that it implies that there must be a designer who made the world ‘just right’ for human existence. Religious believers
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I do not find any of the traditional proofs for God’s existence persuasive‚ and I will go over each argument one at a time to explain why I do not find them persuasive‚ starting with Anselm’s ontological argument‚ then Aquinas’ cosmological argument‚ and finally Paley’s teleological argument. First‚ Anselm’s ontological argument is not persuasive because the argument can be used to prove things that do not exist. The faulty logic is shown in Gaunilo’s Lost Island Objection because instead of putting
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Melissa Watchorn November 4‚ 2011 The Teleological Argument and its Not-so-logical Form. The teleological argument attempts to prove in its form that there is an ultimate design and therefore ultimate designer of the universe. It attempts to tell us that‚ since the universe shows some form of design (a butterfly’s wings‚ a human eye‚ etc)‚ there must be some sort of intelligent designer behind it all. The argument from design is as follows: “Watches‚ houses‚ ships‚ machines and so on all
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The Teleological Argument for God There are many theories about how the universe‚ earth‚ and humans came into existence. Some aim to prove the existence of God‚ that a large explosion created all life‚ or even that everything has just always existed. One of these theories works to answer questions about creation and prove the existence of the Christian God; this theory is known as the Teleological argument. To expand my basis of knowledge on this subject I consulted Matthew Esters‚ who recently
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A defense of the ontological argument Daniel Andrews In this essay I will first explain the ontological argument and my reasons for choosing it. I will then discuss why I believe it is a better account for the existence of god than the teleological argument and the cosmological argument. I will then move onto discuss various theologians that oppose the ontological argument and critique their responses. The aim of the essay if to show the strength of the argument and to expose some key weaknesses
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