The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God (Anselm and Gaunilo)

What is it about?

This is the third chapter of The Devil’s Advocate vs. God’s Honest Truth: A Dialectical Inquiry into the Rationality of Religion. It is the first of three chapters on the ontological argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument infers the existence of God from the essence of God. This chapter focuses on the original version of the argument as formulated by Anselm of Canterbury in his Proslogion (1077–1078), leaving subsequent iterations for the next chapter. The argument can be summarized in its simplest interpretation as follows: (P1) God is that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived. (P2) It is better (ontologically more significant) to exist than not to exist. (P3) That-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived exists, given that its failure to exist would preclude the possibility of its being that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived, which can indeed be conceived to exist. (C) Therefore, God exists. Coverage also includes objections by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers, a Benedictine monk who became the first critic to react in print to the argument of Saint Anselm. Approaching the critique as an opportunity to elaborate on his own strategy, Anselm not only drafted a written response, but also stipulated that his Proslogion thereafter be printed and circulated together with the objections by Gaunilo (Pro Insipiente) and the replies by Anselm himself (Responsio Editoris). The objections and replies enrich the original by attracting attention to key points and inferences in the argument as well as emphasizing and preventing potential misunderstandings.

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Photo by Valdemaras D. on Unsplash

Photo by Valdemaras D. on Unsplash