Ontological argument facts for kids

The ontological argument is a special idea in philosophy. It tries to show that God must exist. It's a way of thinking about God using only logic and ideas, not by looking at the world or what we experience.

What is the Ontological Argument?

The main idea behind this argument is that if we can imagine something truly perfect, then that perfect thing must exist. Why? Because if it only existed in our minds, it wouldn't be as perfect as something that exists in real life.

Anselm's Idea of Perfection

The first person to write down this argument was a monk named Anselm of Canterbury. He lived a long time ago, around the year 1078. Anselm said that God is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." This means God is the greatest thing we can possibly think of.

• If we can imagine the greatest possible being, and
• If existing in reality is better than just existing in our minds, then
• This greatest possible being must exist in reality. If it didn't, it wouldn't be the greatest.

So, for Anselm, the very idea of a perfect God means God has to be real.

Other Thinkers and the Argument

Many other thinkers have talked about this argument over the centuries.

• René Descartes, a famous French philosopher, also had his own versions. He thought that existence is a part of God's nature, just like having three sides is part of a triangle's nature.
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German philosopher, tried to make the argument even stronger. He wanted to show that a "supremely perfect being" is possible to imagine.

Challenges to the Argument

Not everyone agreed with the ontological argument. Many philosophers have found problems with it.

The Perfect Island Problem

One of the earliest and most famous objections came from a monk named Gaunilo. He was a friend of Anselm. Gaunilo said that if Anselm's logic was true, you could prove that a "perfect island" must exist.

• Imagine the most perfect island you can think of.
• If it's truly perfect, it must exist in reality, because an island that exists is better than one that doesn't.

But we know there's no such thing as a truly perfect island in the real world. Gaunilo used this example to show that the argument might be flawed. Just because we can imagine something perfect doesn't mean it has to be real.

David Hume's View

David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, didn't like arguments that started only from ideas. He believed that real knowledge comes from what we can see, hear, and experience. He thought that you can't prove something exists just by thinking about it. He called such arguments "nothing but sophistry and illusion."

Immanuel Kant's Objection

Another very important objection came from Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher. He argued that "existence is not a predicate." This means that "existing" isn't a quality or feature of something, like being tall or being blue.

• When you say "the sky is blue," "blue" describes the sky.
• But when you say "God exists," "exists" doesn't describe God in the same way. It just says that God is real.

Kant believed that you can't add existence to a concept to make it more perfect. Thinking about a perfect thing doesn't make it exist.

Modern Versions

Even with these challenges, some modern philosophers still work on the ontological argument. They try to use new types of logic to make it stronger. For example, Alvin Plantinga proposed a version using "modal logic," which deals with what is possible and necessary.

The ontological argument remains a fascinating and debated topic in philosophy. It makes us think deeply about what it means for something to exist and how we can know things.

Images for kids

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  Anselm of Canterbury was the first to attempt an ontological argument for God's existence.

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  French thinker René Descartes proposed several arguments that could be termed ontological.

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  German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz attempted to prove the coherence of a "supremely perfect being".

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  Alvin Plantinga criticized Malcolm's and Hartshorne's ontological arguments and proposed a variation of his own.

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  David Hume reasoned that an ontological argument was not possible.

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  Immanuel Kant proposed that existence is not a predicate.

See also

In Spanish: Argumento ontológico para niños