ontological argument

An ontological argument for the existence of God is one that attempts the method of a priori proof, which utilizes intuition and reason alone. In the context of the Abrahamic religions, it was first proposed by the medieval philosopher Anselm of Canterbury in his Proslogion, and important variations have been developed by philosophers such as:

• René Descartes,
• Gottfried Leibniz,
• Norman Malcolm,
• Charles Hartshorne,
• Alvin Plantinga, and
• Kurt Gödel.

A modal logic version of the argument was devised by mathematician Kurt Gödel. The ontological argument has been a controversial topic in philosophy. Many philosophers, including David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Gottlob Frege, and Gaunilo of Marmoutiers, have openly criticized the argument.

The argument works by examining the concept of God, and arguing that it implies the actual existence of God; that is, if we can conceive of God, then God exists — it is thus self-contradictory to state that God does not exist.

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