PHIL 1600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Ontological Argument, A Priori And A Posteriori
19 Mar 2017
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A(cid:374)sel(cid:373)"s ontological argument for the existence of the judeo-christian god. A priori arguments are arguments without substantive empirical content. A posteriori arguments are arguments without substantive empirical evidence. A(cid:374)sel(cid:373)"s o(cid:374)tologi(cid:272)al for the existence of god is an a priori argument. It is a priori because it does not rely on sensory evidence but rather definitions and distinguishing contradictions. The being than which none greater can be conceived (bngc) is the awesomest being you can think of. Existence in conception means you can think about it. 40-foot-tall unicorns do not exist in reality but they exist in conception because you can think about them but they are not real. You can think about him and he is all living breathing and writing these notes. There is no such thing as a greater being than the greatest being you can think of. This would be like if somebody asked you to think of the greatest thing ever, now think of something greater.
