What kind of argument is Anselm's ontological argument?
A priori and analytic
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What is Anselm's definition of God?
"That than which nothing greater can be conceived"
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Which biblical passage does Anselm refer to when he speaks of the fool?
Psalm 14:1
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What is an example to illustrate that that which exists in reality is greater than that which exists in the mind?
£100 pounds - exactly the same in the mind and in reality but better in reality
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What does Anselm view God's existence as?
Necessary
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What is Descartes' definition of God?
A "supremely perfect being"
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Descartes views existence as a (?) of a perfect being
Predicate
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What is the predicate of a triangle, and what kind of statement is this?
Having 3 sides - analytic/tautology
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Who criticises Anselm using the idea of an island?
Gaunilo
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Give two reasons why the island criticism is not valid
There is no "intrinsic maximum" for an island - an island can always be improved; islands are not contingent
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Who pointed out that there is not intrinsic maximum for an island?
Plantinga
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What does Kant argue the ontological argument is, rather than analytic?
A synthetic hypothesis
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Why does Kant think the ontological argument would be circular if it were analytic?
It says something like "God is an existing being so God exists"
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How does Kant refer to the ontological argument?
As a "tired tautology"
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How does Kant object to Descartes' triangle?
Denying that a triangle has three sides is contradictory but dismissing both the idea of three sides (predicate) and the triangle itself (subject) one is left with no contradiction
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Why does Kant argue that existence is not a predicate?
The predicate has to tell us something about the subject
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What is an example to show that existence does not add anything to the subject?
200 existing pounds and 200 imaginary pounds are the same
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Which of Anselm's arguments does Kant challenge when arguing that God cannot be an exception to the rule?
The argument that the ontological argument only works when applied to God, because God exists in a different way from everything else
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Which other philosopher argues that existence cannot be a predicate, and on which grounds?
Bertrand Russell - If existence was a predicate we could construct the Santa Clause syllogism
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Bertrand Russell argues that existence is not a predicate of things but...
A predicate of the ideas of those things
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Which example is used by Bertrand Russell to demonstrate that our use of predicates is not sufficient to demonstrate that something exists?
The king of France example
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Which philosopher thought that Proslogion 3 did not encounter the same issues as Proslogion 2, and developed it?
Norman Malcolm
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Which idea did Alvin Plantinga develop?
The idea of "possible worlds"
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Which example does Plantinga use to demonstrate his example of possible worlds?
John F. Kennedy being an estate agent
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Name the two phrases that, according to Plantinga, must describe God if He is existent
Maximally great, maximally excellent
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What is maximal greatness and what is its flaw?
Maximal greatness is existing in every possible world; its flaw is that in one of these worlds there could be a greater being
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What, therefore must maximal greatness entail?
Maximal excellence
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What does maximal excellence entail?
Omnipotence, omniscience and moral perfection
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How does Aquinas object to the idea that God's existence is self-evident?
Contrasts the statement "There is no God" with "There is no truth" - the latter is contradictory if it is true but the former is not, as a state of godlessness can be imagined
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Who points out that perhaps not everyone will agree with Anselm's definition of God?
Aquinas
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Who did Kant criticise?
Anselm, Descartes
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Who did Russell criticise?
Descartes, Plantinga, Malcolm
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Who did Aquinas criticise?
Anselm
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Name the five philosophers that criticise Anselm and Descartes, and two that build on them
Gaunilo, Kant, Russell, Aquinas, Frege; Malcolm and Plantinga
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What is Anselm's definition of God?
Back
"That than which nothing greater can be conceived"
Card 3
Front
Which biblical passage does Anselm refer to when he speaks of the fool?
Back
Card 4
Front
What is an example to illustrate that that which exists in reality is greater than that which exists in the mind?
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