Kants Refutations of the Proofs of the Existence of God...

Kants Refutations of the Proofs of the Existence of God There are three types of proof for the existance of God: The Ontological Proof: God is the most perfect conceivable being. Existence is more perfect than non-existence. God by definition exists. The Cosmological Proof: Everything contingent must have a cause. If this cause is also contingent, then it too must also have a cause. This chain of causes and effects must have a beginning - a necessary cause. This necessary cause must be God. The Physico-Theological Proof: Observations about the particular constitution of the sensible world provide proof of the existence of God. As we saw earlier in the CPR, there are†¦show more content†¦As soon as a person has admitted that he/she has a concept of God, by this argument, then that person has also admitted Gods existence (in the same way that admitting you have the concept of a triangle is, is to admit that a triangle has three angles). Like most of Kants topics of discussion, it is difficult to fully grasp the entirety of what is being said. However, unlike most other cases, this time I dont think its entirely his fault. In fact, his refutation to this deceivingly simple argument is (perhaps deceivingly) actually quite simple. Existence cannot be a predicate. In the sentence Thomas is the teacher, the word is is not the predicate, but it is the word that implies existence. Therefore, the sentence God is does not contain a predicate. A predicate is a word that ads a quality to the concept of the thing it is applied to -- existence is not a quality. The cosmological argument, according to Kan t, is too well known for it to be necessary to expound it in detail here (P570), so if you dont know it, you can join me in feeling like an idiot#8230; However, he then goes on to quickly explain the argument. I also took the liberty of finding out where this argument came from and it seems to have started with Aristotle and also used by Aquinas. Aristotle said that the fact that there is movement could prove the existence of an unmoved mover (God). In other wordsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Hegel and Kant on the Ontological Argument1748 Words   |  7 PagesArgument ABSTRACT: I intend to present Kants refutation of the ontological argument as confronted by Hegels critique of Kants refutation. The ontological argument can be exposed in a syllogistic way: everything I conceive as belonging clearly and distinctly to the nature or essence of something can be asserted as true of something. I perceive clearly and distinctly that existence belongs to the nature or essence of a perfect being; therefore, existence can be stated as true of a supremely perfectRead MoreCritique of Judgement Summary829 Words   |  4 Pagesscientific work even though we would be wrong to assume that teleological principles are actually at work in nature. Analysis While much of what Kant writes about aesthetics might strike us now as a bit dated, his work is historically very significant. Kant’s Third Critique is one of the early works in the field of aesthetics and one of the most important treatises on the subject ever written. Aesthetics differs from literary criticism and art criticism, which have existed for millennia, in that it attemptsRead MorePerfect Island Objection by Anselm of Canterbury1504 Words   |  7 Pagesthe basis that there exists a fundamental dissimilarity between the concept of existence in our minds, and that of existence in reality. This essay will present two objections to Anselm’s Ontological argument, namely, the ‘Perfect Island Objection’ and the ‘Existence is not a Predicate’ objection, whilst also discussing possible responses to these objections. The Ontological Argument sets out to prove the existence of God, as defined by Anselm as ‘something than which nothing greater can be conceived’Read More The Problem of Evil Essay examples5683 Words   |  23 PagesIs there any satisfactory way of reconciling the existence of an omnipotent and all-loving God with the existence of natural evil (i.e. evil not due to the misuse of human free will)? One of the central claims of the Judaeo-Christian tradition is the existence of an omnipotent and all-loving God. Against this is the observation that people and animals suffer evil. By common sense, we would infer from this observation that God, as conceived in this tradition, does not exist - for, if He did, He would