Philosophy 1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Bigfoot, Ontological Argument, Gaunilo Of Marmoutiers
20 Mar 2016
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The ontological argument for the existence of god: some history and language. St. anselm of canterbury (arch bishop 11th century head of christian church in england: christian saint/ scholar/ theologian/statesman. Argument has (at least) 2 meanings: a verbal disagreement, a reasoned support for a given idea. Arguments in the first sense usually involve arguments in the second sense. The ontological argument = argument of the second sense (b) But we also gave, in today"s readings, an argument in the first sense, a back and forth tussle between anselm and gaunilo. Ontological: having to do with being/ having to do with existence. A sasquatch: a large, hairy, gorilla-like creature inhabiting the mountains of the west coast of north america, preferring to avoid contact with humans. We can have definitions of things that may not exist, still leave open the question of whether they exist. Both pro-sasquatchers and anti-sasquatchers can agree on the definition while still debating the existence.
