PHIL 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Ontological Argument
15 Nov 2016
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God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Existence in someone"s understanding: unicorns, absolute zero, santa, easter bunny, tooth fairy. Thus, god exits at least in the first sense of existence, i. e. in the understanding. But, if that than which nothing greater can be conceived can exist in our understanding, then it would be even greater to exist in reality. This is a thing we can conceive: therefore, if that than which a greater cannot be conceived, but this cannot be. The only thing that can be that than which nothing greater can be conceived must exist both in the understanding and reality. Again, god is that than which nothing greater can be conceived. And thus, also it is impossible to conceive that god doesn"t exist. We conceive of the words that signify something. A person can conceive of god in the first way, but cannot in the second way.
