Ontological argument

In theology and the philosophy of religion, an ontological argument for the existence of God is an argument that God's existence can be proved a priori, that is, by intuition and reason alone. In the context of the Abrahamic religions, it was first proposed by the medieval philosopher Anselm of Canterbury in his Proslogion, and important variations have been developed by philosophers such as René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Norman Malcolm, Charles Hartshorne, and Alvin Plantinga.

Related Topics:
Theology - Philosophy of religion - Argument that God's existence can be proved - A priori - Anselm of Canterbury - Proslogion - René Descartes - Gottfried Leibniz - Norman Malcolm - Charles Hartshorne - Alvin Plantinga

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The argument works by examining the concept of God, and arguing that it implies the actual existence of God; that is, if we can conceive of God, then god exists — it is thus self-contradictory to state that God does not exist. This is obviously a controversial position, and the ontological argument has a long history of detractors and defenders.

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The argument's different versions arise mainly from using different concepts of God as the starting point. For example, Anselm starts with the notion of God as a being than which no greater can be conceived, while Descartes starts with the notion of God as being maximally perfect (as having all perfections).

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