Philosophy of Humanity

Philosophy of Religion

The Ontological Argument

Throughout the past millennium, the ontological proof of God's existence has captivated the attention of religious philosophers. First formulated by the medieval thinker Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), this argument has been reiterated by numerous other philosophers. Anselm began his reflections by questioning the origins and nature of the human concept of God. He described God as that which nothing greater can be conceived. Every person questions the nature of God, and regardless of whether their response is one of belief or disbelief, they engage with this religious question. Even those who do not believe in God's existence still possess a notion of God; without such a concept, they could neither believe nor disbelieve. The notion of God, as the entity beyond which nothing greater can be conceived, is present in all people. Anselm questioned how this concept became universally known. Unlike other concepts that are linked to observable entities in reality, the concept of God cannot be observed in the world. This suggests that the emergence of the concept of God in the human mind is a significant problem in philosophical discourse.

Anselm argued that since God cannot be experienced in the surrounding world, knowledge of Him is not a posteriori, that is, derived from experience. If knowledge of God is not a posteriori, then it must be a priori, or obtained prior to experience. This leads to the question: how did the human mind come to possess this knowledge if it is not connected to experience? Anselm answered that there must exist some entity that has implanted this knowledge in the human mind. No being can have knowledge of an entity greater than which nothing can be conceived, except for the entity itself. Therefore, only God could have instilled knowledge of Himself into the human mind. The uniqueness of the ontological argument lies in Anselm's demonstration that the concept of God is present in all people, and the only way to explain its origin is to acknowledge its a priori, or divine, origin.

In modern philosophy, the French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) revisited the ontological proof. Descartes based his philosophical system on the problem of certain knowledge. Everything that a person can know is subject to doubt. Descartes argued that one can doubt everything, but the only thing that remains undoubted is doubt itself. Since doubt is a form of thinking, to deny the fact of thinking is impossible. Thus, if a person thinks, this serves as an undeniable proof of their existence. Descartes famously declared, "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). However, this line of reasoning proves only the existence of the person, and human knowledge would remain incomplete without addressing the existence of God and the world.

Descartes believed that only judgments that are entirely free from doubt, clear and evident, can be considered true. Since Descartes demonstrated the existence of thought through doubt and the world remained a subject of doubt, thinking, rather than the world, became the starting point for his further argumentation. Clear and evident concepts must be sought in thought. Descartes asked which concept in human thought is the clearest and most distinct. That concept is God, as there is no person without the notion of God in their mind, regardless of their religious beliefs. At this stage of reasoning, Descartes reiterated Anselm's ontological proof: if a person has a clear and distinct concept of God, and since no clear and distinct concept can be gained from experience—because everything observed in experience can be doubted—then this knowledge must be a priori. This implies that God Himself must have instilled knowledge of Himself in the human mind.

God is an absolutely perfect being, which means He is good and just, as goodness and justice are more perfect than their opposites. A good and just God would not deceive humans. Therefore, He must have created the world and human senses in such a way that human perception of reality is true. Descartes used the proof of God's existence as the basis for proving the existence of the world. For Descartes, the fact of God's existence is clear and evident, unlike the existence of the world, which remains a subject of doubt. Only the fact of God's existence can justify the existence of the world.

The ontological proof of God's existence by Anselm of Canterbury and René Descartes has been the subject of vigorous philosophical debate. It is based on the idea that humans have a clear conception of God, yet this knowledge could not have been obtained from experience. If the concept of God was not acquired through experience, it must mean that God Himself implanted the knowledge of Himself in humans. The ontological proof of Anselm and Descartes is incontrovertible, as one can only refute it by explaining the origin of the concept of God in the human mind—a task that has yet to be accomplished. Opponents of the ontological proof have attempted to show that the concept of God is not universal, suggesting that there are or have been peoples without a notion of God. However, neither archaeological excavations nor studies of the cultures of indigenous peoples in Australia, Oceania, and Africa have revealed a people without religion. The ontological proof remains a central and relevant topic in the philosophy of religion, occupying the forefront of academic journals and textbooks.