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    The ontological argument for God's existence is unsound. — Carmelics
    Home/Natural Theology
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    The ontological argument for God's existence is unsound.

    Natural Theology
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

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    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Kant demonstrated that existence is not a predicate that adds to a concept's content, but merely posits the concept as instantiated.
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    • 2.If existence is not a real predicate, then no analysis of the concept of God can yield existential conclusions, rendering the ontological argument's inference formally invalid.
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    • 3.This Kantian objection applies universally and thus dissolves the parody problem: neither God nor perfect islands exist by conceptual necessity, for the same structural reason.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Gaunilo's parody and Kant's critique converge on a single principle: modal status cannot be derived solely from conceptual containment of perfection.
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    • 2.Plantinga's modal ontological argument illicitly moves from the coherence of possible maximal greatness to its actualization in the actual world via S5, but S5's axiom that possible necessity entails actual necessity is not analytically guaranteed for contingent beings.
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    • 3.Without independent grounds for granting that maximal greatness is instantiated in some possible world, the modal argument begs the question by smuggling existence into the premise set.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.The ontological argument claims that because the idea of God includes existence, God's existence can be established via conceptual analysis alone.
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    • 2.By parity of reasoning, the same logic would establish the existence of a maximally perfect island and an existent lion, since those ideas also include existence.
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    • 3.The conclusion that a maximally perfect island and an existent lion necessarily exist is absurd.
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    Topics

    Natural Theology

    Connections

    2 topics

    Modality & Possibility3 linkedTruth & Knowledge1 linked

    Related

    By parity of reasoning, the same logic would establish the existence of a maxima...Gaunilo's parody and Kant's critique converge on a single principle: modal statu...If an argument form leads to absurd conclusions in parallel cases, the argument ...If existence is not a real predicate, then no analysis of the concept of God can...
    +6 moreShow less
    Kant demonstrated that existence is not a predicate that adds to a concept's con...Plantinga's modal ontological argument illicitly moves from the coherence of pos...The conclusion that a maximally perfect island and an existent lion necessarily ...

    Similar

    The ontological argument claims that because the idea of God includes ...87%The ontological argument is defective because nothing can be determine...86%The ontological argument's claim that God necessarily exists cannot be...86%No known ontological argument for the existence of God is persuasive.86%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: natural-theology
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    The objection aims to show that, like the idea God, the idea of the existent lion and the idea of the maximally perfect island include existence, and thus the existence of these objects can be established via an ontological argument. But the claim that the existence of Caterus’s lion and Gaunilo’s island can be established in this way is absurd, and thus the same holds for the theistic ontological argument. Note that this parity argument via a reductio ad absurdum, if successful, would show that
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    The ontological argument claims that because the idea of God includes existence,...
    This Kantian objection applies universally and thus dissolves the parody problem...
    Without independent grounds for granting that maximal greatness is instantiated ...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit