Anselm's Ontological Argument

Introduction

A central cluster of questions in the philosophy of religion includes: “Does at least one divinity exist?” “What is it (are they) like?” “What arguments are there for or against its (their) existence?” These questions have sometimes been classified as belonging to metaphysics, more specifically in the area of ontology called first philosophy in the Aristotelian sense of this term (in Latin, philosophia prima); that is, the study of being as being, by contrast with ouk on, i.e. non-being or nothing at all as well as the study of particular entities, even those that are nothing in the sense of me on, i.e. of having no actual but only potential being. The reason for this has been that the subject matter of first philosophy is those objects that are separate and unmovable; if there is a GOD, He must be among such objects. At any rate, the inquiry into the nature and existence of God often involves a characterization of the attributes of the said divinity or divinities. For example, the divine attributes of the Judeo-Christian God involve, most notably, omnipotence, i.e. God is all-powerful; omniscience, i.e. God is all knowing; omni-benevolence and absolute justice, i.e. God is absolutely benevolent and just; omnipresence, i.e. God is everywhere; personhood, i.e. God is perfect; infinity, i.e. God is infinite; eternity, i.e. God is eternal; and uniqueness, i.e. God is the only God.

Discussion

Three main views have been characterized concerning the existence of God (or gods): agnosticism, i.e. the view that one does not know or believe whether God (or any god) does or does not exist; atheism, i.e. the view that no God exists; and theism, i.e. the view that at least one God exists. Theism may collapse together with monotheism, i.e. the view that there is only one god, which contrasts with pantheism, the view that everything - typically the natural universe - is identical with God, as well as with polytheism, the view that there is more than one god. Associated with polytheism is shamanism, i.e. any religion based on the person of a shaman, who is a religious leader in many hunting and gathering groups and societies who embodies the traditions of those groups and societies. Vestiges of shamanism can be found in the Americas, India, Australia and Asia; however, they are remarkably common in northern Asia. Shamans are believed to communicate directly with and be assisted by spirits that are supernatural, i.e. exist outside our world. This communication is said to occur through possession or wandering ecstasy. In the case of possession, the spirits are supposed to speak through the shaman. While in wandering ecstasy, the shaman is supposed to travel to the world of the spirits while only the shaman's body remains in our world (Davies, Pp. 98-115).

The ontological argument:

As for the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is a wide variety of arguments for God's existence. A notable type of argument is the ontological argument, of which there is a great variety of formulations. The most famous formulation of ...