Deductive arguments - questions

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  • Created by: gemshort
  • Created on: 26-01-18 14:00
Quote: Anselm on 'the fool'
'Truly there is a God, although the fool has said in his heart "There is no God"'
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Quote: Descartes on mountains and valleys
...'I cannot conceive a mountain without a valley... I cannot conceive God without existence, it follows that existence is inseparable from Him, and hence that He really exists'
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Quote: Anselm on God
'That than which nothing greater can be conceived'
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Quote: Malcolm on God's existence
'if God, a being greater than which cannot be conceived, does not exist, then He cannot come into existence. For if He did, he would either have been caused... or have happened to come into existence, and in either case he would be a limited being'
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Quote: Malcolm on why God necessarily exists
'God's existence is either impossible or necessary. It can be the former only if the concept of such a being is self-contradictory or logically absurd. Assuming that is not so, it follows that He necessarily exists'
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What is an example of a deductive argument?
All oceans contain water; the Pacific is an ocean; the Pacific contains water
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If one of the premises in a deductive argument is suspect, what might this mean for the conclusion?
The conclusion may be inaccurate
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What are the two positions in reference to the existence of God in Anselm's argument?
Acceptance (theist) or denial (atheist)
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For Anselm, rejection of God was not a rejection of a being called God, but instead a rejection of what?
It was the rejection of having to face up to being accountable to the divine judge (God)
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Why must God exist in both the mind and reality, according to Anselm?
He is the greatest possible being that can be conceived. Existing in reality is greater than existing in the mind, and so he must exist both in the mind and in reality to be the greatest being
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What example does Anselm use to demonstrate that God must exist in both the mind and in reality?
The painter and the painting - the painting must exist in the mind of the painter before it exists in reality
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Why must God have necessary existence, according to Anselm?
God must have necessary existence because it is greater to exist than to not exist, and God is 'that than which nothing greater can be conceived' - if he didn't exist, anything that did exist would be greater than God
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What does it mean to have necessary existence?
It is impossible to not exist - you must exist
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What does it mean to have contingent existence?
It is possible to not exist - you do not have to exist
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Why must even atheists have a concept of God?
You must have a concept of something in order to reject that concept
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What two analogies did Descartes use to prove that God has necessary existence?
The idea of triangles; the analogy of mountains and valleys
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Why must God exist according to Descartes?
Existence is a perfection which God must possess in order to be the supremely perfect being
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What does Gaunilo's island analogy attempt to demonstrate?
Just because you can imagine that something is the greatest possible being, does not mean it necessarily exists, i.e. just because I can imagine a perfect island does not mean the island really exists
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Why did critics suggest Gaunilo had misunderstood the ontological argument?
Only God has necessary existence; Gaunilo's island is a contingent object and possesses no intrinsic maximum. The same cannot be said of God as perfection is a necessary part of him
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Why is existence not a predicate according to Kant?
Because it is something that an object can possess or lack, but it does not tell us anything about its nature
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What example does Kant use to demonstrate that existence is not a predicate?
100 thalers - nothing is added to our understanding of thalers by adding the phrase 'they exist', i.e. they are round, they are gold, they exist
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What was Kant's objection to Descartes' ontological argument?
Existence is not a predicate and so it is inaccurate to describe existence as a perfection that God possesses, therefore God does not necessarily exists
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What is Malcom's ontological argument?
God is an unlimited being - his existence is either impossible (he does not exist) or necessary. It can only be impossible if the concept of God is self-contradictory or logically absurd
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Why can God not have 'come into' existence according to Malcolm?
God is an unlimited being so nothing could cause him to exist, and he could not have just happened to exist, because then he would be a limited being
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What is Descartes' ontological argument
God must exist because he is the most perfect being, who possesses all perfections, including the perfection of existence, so he must exist
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What is Anselm's ontological argument?
Everyone has a concept of God; God is the being than which nothing greater can be conceived; it is more perfect to exist than not exist; therefore God must exist
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Quote: Descartes on mountains and valleys

Back

...'I cannot conceive a mountain without a valley... I cannot conceive God without existence, it follows that existence is inseparable from Him, and hence that He really exists'

Card 3

Front

Quote: Anselm on God

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Quote: Malcolm on God's existence

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Quote: Malcolm on why God necessarily exists

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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