by Giovanni Ferri

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

There are several arguments for the existence and non-existence of god; these comprise of the Ontological arguments, the Cosmological arguments, the Teleological arguments and the Moral arguments. The leading argument against the existence of God concerns the problem of evil.
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegard (1813-1855) argued that it is inappropriate to establish a belief in God based on reason, and instead emphasized faith. However, despite his skepticism about the value of reason in supporting a belief in God, many philosophers have tried to prove the existence of God by rational argument.

The Ontological argument proceeds from the assumption that we can talk rationally and with meaning about God; and with an analysis of the significance of the concept of God, we can conclude with the existence of God. The most famous Ontological argument was derived from St Anselm of Bec(1033-1109),in his book 'The Proslogion'. This argument upholds the God interpreted as the greatest being that can be conceived, must exist, since a being that does not exist would by the merit of that fact lack a quality that contributes to it's greatness. The very notion of a being, than which nothing greater or more pure can be conceived, entails its presence, for existence is itself an aspect of perfection.
St Anselm's argument goes as follows:
1-Consider the idea of God. God is a being that is absolutely perfect, a being that cannot be surpassed in greatness.
2-The greatest conceivable being cannot simply exist contingently,for there is a greater being that would have necessary existence.
3-As God is the greatest conceivable being then he must have necessary existence.
4-A logically necessary being is one whose non-existence is inconceivable.
5-Therefore, if God has necessary existence then God's non-existence is inconceivable.
6-Therefore, God must exist.
Criticism for this argument rests in two main areas, firstly- whether existence actually contributes to a beings greatness.And secondly on the fact that this argument relies on the idea of God,which mortals can not be sure of. This view was the reason why St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)rejected the argument.
The second group of important arguments for God's existence is the Cosmological argument, of which there are many. The prime result of the Cosmological arguments is that they provide us with a ways of explaining the universe, of understanding the universe and its origins. The simplest of these arguments is derived from two Arab

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