Read this if you don't believe in God

18.04.2013 à 23:02

It was interesting reading something about the ontological argument [as named by Kant] of the existence of God. Anselm, who is credited of propounding that "God is that, than which nothing greater can be conceived". Meaning that we cannot think of anything or something greater than God. Whether this God exist or not, there is nothing else we can think above this God. By this Anselm meant to say that God is the perfect maximum level of man's thinking [maximal perfection].

To make his point conclusive, Anselm argued that such a great being cannot exist in the inteligence only. It is highly probable that He also exist in reality because, if we cannot imagine any being greater than God, then this God is Omni-super above all things including man's imagination.

Even though anselm is not trying to be scientific, he meant to communicate that common sense can find God. His argument is a priori. He creates the abstract problem as a means to think; that the mere fact we have an idea of a God in our intelligence presupposses that "I don't believe in God" is ambigous statement. The one who does not believe in God believes in a non-existence of God which is ambigously impossible.

Anselm's argument can be found in his book "Proslogion". Bonne lecture :)