The Ontological Argument for the existence of God is an argument that attempts to make the claim for God’s existence without invoking experience. That is both it’s strongest point and it’s weakest.
Before I can begin a discussion of what I mean by that statement, it would make sense to briefly explain the Ontological Argument. To explain, I’ll use my favorite, and perhaps the most famous – the argument put forth by Anselm of Canterbury.
Anselm first gets us to agree on a definition of God that is “the-being-than-which-there-is-no-greater.” From there, we are to agree that existence adds to a things greatness (for surely, alcohol in reality is better than alcohol that only exists in my mind), and so if we concede that point, we’ve made Anselm’s argument. For if something exists in reality than it is greater than something which exists solely in the mind, and so God must exist, otherwise there would be a being that is greater than God, who is “the-being-than-which-there-is-no-greater.”
Guanilo, a contemporary of Anselm, and a Monk, rejects Anselm’s logic, though he would most likely ultimately agree with Anselm’s conclusion that God does exist. Guanilo argues that by applying the same logic to the idea of an island, and calling this island “the-island-than-which-there-is-no-greater”, and following Anselm’s logic, concludes that the island must exist through the same reasoning that Anselm is able to conclude that God exists.
However, there is a problem with this objection, which Anselm would bring up, but a philosopher by the name of William Rowe would defend much better. I too, will do my best to defend Anselm in the same manner. The objection to Guanilo’s objection is simple – that an island, and any other thing we might try and put in the place of God, is finite. God, by definition, is necessarily infinite, so the comparison of an island (or hockey play, as Rowe would demonstrate), to God is not analogical. When it comes to the perfection of a finite thing, it is actually impossible for our minds to conceive of those things, which is a requirement of Anselm’s argument for God’s existence. We must be able to actually conceive of the thing in our mind, and because perfection is a part of our conception of God, we can conceive of a perfect God, but not a perfect island.
This brings me back to my original statement – it is within this objection and response that one can begin to see what I meant by the lack of experience being evoked creates both a strong and weak argument. The argument itself is strong in that it is hard to dispute that a non-existent God is not as great as an existent God, regardless of if you want to believe that God exists or not. As someone who wants to believe, I obviously come down on one side of that, and if someone does not want to believe they’ll come down on the other. However, the question still remains of if one can truly conceive of a perfect God existing in the universe, because we are in the finite world, we have no experience on which to base the idea of an infinitely perfect being existing within the confines of the universe that we occupy.
February 17, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I’ve followed your blog and always found your writing interesting, but you lost me on this one. I understand it just fine, having studied philosophy and theology quite extensively myself, but you seem like a young man who wants nothing more than to impress the world. From your previous posts, I believe you do indeed possess a great intellect. I also believe you have a sincere faith in Christ. I would be willing to bet, however, that your life does not reflect total devotion to God and his plan for you. You have mastered big concepts such as the existence of God, but it is in the things of everyday life that our faithfulness is tested. Your last post, about integrity in politics, is a good example. Whether you are in politics or not, daily integrity is essential to a faithful life. Are you really truly committed to living a God-centered life? Does your life reflect that? Is your schoolwork glorifying to God? What about the way you drive? Is your dating life about God or is it about you?
These are some ideas to spur you to think. I am impressed by your writing and I see incredible potential in you, but if you do not live your faith in the details, you will be able to do nothing for God. Examine your life closely. It may lead to some very difficult decisions, but it is these hard choices that God uses to draw us more fully into his will. You may have to sacrifice some of your activities in order to give more time to your schoolwork. You may have to consciously focus on driving like Jesus would drive. You may have to end a relationship that is not God-centered. I do not know you, so I can only suggest the things that were challenges for me when I was in college.
I can guarantee this one thing: if you carefully examine your life for one week, you WILL find AT LEAST one thing that is not in God’s will for you. That will leave you facing a choice. Will you continue to follow your own desire or will you follow God?
March 12, 2011 at 10:30 am
Far be it from me to defend the author of a blog on his own blog, but Mr Brandt, i think you are too harsh. first of all, you didn’t explain how you were lost on this post. personally, i would argue that we cannot imagine a perfect God. imagining God perfectly may be less than an existing God, but we cannot imagine God perfectly. in fact, this proposition asks us to imagine a perfect God and imagine he doesn’t exist, which is doubly impossible. secondly, i doubt any judgment of a person based on a reading of his blog. further, what gives you any insight into Mr Freeman’s life’s details? thirdly, it is all very well to challenge a man to follow God more carefully, but i think that your challenge rubs me, the casual reader, the wrong way. your reading of Mr Freeman’s writing is literalistic and shallow, and you seem more like you’re trying to advance an agenda than Mr Freeman is. Pardon my being frank, i mean no disrespect.
Mr Freeman, if you read this, i actually commented on your blog here: http://faithintheatre.blogspot.com/2009/04/absurdism-and-christianity.html. i don’t know if it updates you. feel free to disregard, though. God Bless.