Pdf it is often said that the ontological argument fails because it wrongly treats. The following video explains alvin plantinga s modal ontological argument where the word modal refers to notions of possibility. Many arguments fall under the category of the ontological, and they tend to involve arguments about the state of being or existing. Perhaps one might resolve to use the label ontological argument for any argument which gets classified as an ontological argument by its proponents. Alvin plantingas surprisingly deflationary take on his. Alvin plantingas most popular book is god, freedom, and evil. What was particularly intetesting was seeing alvin plantinga s rebuttal of the argument he would later come to support, although only after tweaking it which i think has really transormed it and is the most convincing form of it that ive ever read. Alvin plantinga has argued that on the basis of the s5 axiom p. Ontological arguments for the existence of god alvin plantinga the ontological argument simplified lynne rudder baker and gareth b. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument, made from an ontological basis, that is. Original german text available online, 628 kb pdf file, maintained by alain. Plantinga begins his discussion of the ontological argument by borrowing seventeenth century philosopher leibniz idea of possible worlds. Alvin plantingas properly basic belief religion refuted. Jun 07, 2010 plantinga on dualism im in the process of writing the next podcast episode on alvin plantinga and his arguments around the idea of belief in god as a properly basic belief.
Their account inspired alvin plantinga to reformulate. To consider this general argument, plantinga selects one particular version offered by j. Plantinga has expressed a modal logic version of the ontological argument in which he uses modal logic to develop, in a more rigorous and formal way, norman malcolms and charles hartshornes modal ontological arguments. Most forms of the ontological argument rely on the premise that existence is greater than nonexistence, or that necessary existence is greater than conditional existence. Download ebook god freedom and evil alvin plantinga the ontological argument among the classical arguments for gods existence, one of the most famous and most controversial is the ontological argument. A tabular comparison of the 1646 westminster confession, the 1658 savoy declaration of faith, the 16771689 london baptist confession and the 1742 philadelphia confession. However, if the investigations of the ontological argument focus on. Thus, keeping the ontological argument alive for 900 years.
University of notre dame press, 1988 parsons, keith, god and the burden of proof buffalo, ny. This book so small that you can fit it in your back pocket. The author concludes that while the argument is probably. Alvin plantingas surprisingly deflationary take on his own. A critique of the plantinga version of the modal ontological. Alvin plantinga the ontological argument page 115 the ontological argument alvin plantinga 1 the third theistic argument i wish to discuss is the famous ontological argument first formulated by anselm of canterbury in the eleventh century. Plantinga, alvin professor of philosophy, university of notre dame. Historically, however, the term is inextricably associated with the famous argument presented in anselms proslogion chapter ii, and with. The show was classic plantinga clear analysis, dry wit, admirable humility and surveyed some of the highlights of his impressive career including warrant, proper basicality and christian belief, the evolutionary argument against naturalism, and the ontological argument.
In short, the prize goes to people who labor valiantly to make religion appear reasonable. Here, plantinga attempted to use the philosophical concept of possible worlds to show the necessary nature of gods existence. His father, cornelius, was then a philosophy graduate student at the university of michigan. This essay critically examines plantinga s rendition, uncovering both its strengths and weaknesses. However, plantingas version seems to avoid this it doesnt, though. There are also the claims that crucial christian doctrinestrinity, incarnation, or atonement, for. This procedure would make good sense if one thought that there is a natural kindontological argumentswhich our practice carves out, but for which is hard to specify defining. This argument for the existence of god has fascinated philosophers ever since anselm first stated it. Ontological arguments are logical deductions that prove a theorem that is compossible with theism, with premises that are independent of observation. The possibility premise sure is, the other two in my formulation dont. An introduction to alvin plantinga s modal ontological argument. Alvin plantinga s modal version is perhaps the most notable example.
T his is a collection of philosophical papers by alvin plantinga. He referred to it as to the modal ontological argument moa. Alvin plantinga famously defends a version of the ontological argument that makes use of the notion of possible worlds. The ontological argument peter millican any argument which attempts to prove gods existence a priori based only on his nature can be termed an ontological argument. Ontological arguments for the existence of god, first discovered by st. Contemporary philosophers such as charles hartshorne, norman malcolm, and alvin plantinga, have utilized modal logic to develop new versions of the on tological argument. Plantinga is one of the most respected and influential philosophers today. In the actual world i am writing up this blog post, but i could have decid. Jun 28, 2009 dean zimmerman and alvin plantinga discuss the ontological argument for the existence of god. Refuting plantingas victorious ontological argument. Plantingas defence of the ontological argument michael tooley in chapter io of his book, the nature of necessity, alvin plantinga contends that although many versions of the ontological argument are unsound, there is at least one that is valid, and whose premises may reasonably be accepted. As is typically done, we might think of a possible world as a complete way that things might have been. Critique of the ontological argument david duncombe.
Reassessing plantingas ontological argument for god. Hartshorne 5, david lewis 9, alvin plantinga 16 and kurt godel 4 have either. Apr 23, 2014 the ontological argument has a long history st. Kants objections, plantinga s reply gregory robson, duke university i. Malcolm, and alvin plantinga, have utilized modal logic to develop new versions of the on tological argument. After kants, and others, critiques of anselm, most philosophers regarded the ontological argument as. Generalization in his critique of the ontological argument. The ontological argument mass market paperback january 1, 1965 by alvin plantinga author see all 2 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. William lane craig considers alvin plantingas version of the ontological argument as having the best chance of being cogent wlc 2004, p. Today, well begin with alvin plantingas modal ontological argument for god. Two dozen or so theistic arguments 205 exist have some but much less than maximal intuitive support. Obrien professor of philosophy emeritus at the university of notre dame and has written groundbreaking books on the problem of evil, god and science, and philosophical.
More specifically, ontological arguments tend to start with a priori theory about the organization of the universe. Articles 2016 law, cause, and occasionalism, in reason and faith. Plantinga and taylor did a fine job compiling parts of famous philosophical works that reflect the ontological argument, both for and against it. By taking existence in reality to be a greatmaking property and god to be the greatest possible being, plantinga skillfully presents anselms ontological argument. I have to say, i think several of the objections presented against the ontological argument basically miss the mark. Contemporary defenders of the ontological argument include alvin plantinga, william alston. Belief in god, edited by alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, 1693.
Is the modal ontological argument for god a sound proof. Plantinga examines where this conflict is said to existlooking at areas such as evolution, divine action in the world, and the scientific study of religionand he considers claims by. An introduction to alvin plantingas modal ontological argument. The prize is typically awarded to people who are credited with bridging the gap between religion and science. However, since he proves gods existence by virtue of a premise, god a maximally great being is a possible being, that is true only if god actually exists. Alvin plantingas modal version is perhaps the most notable example. His modal ontological argument for foundational religious necessity is seen as an almost. Plantinga on the free will defense hugh lafollette. A few years later alvin plantinga reformulated it in terms of the possible worlds semantics.
He spent nineteen years as a professor at calvin college, then eighteen years at the university of notre dame, and returned to calvin college in 2010. In my presentation of the argument, i will go through the argument for my own case. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god that uses ontology. International journal for philosophy of religion 65, no. What was particularly intetesting was seeing alvin plantingas rebuttal of the argument he would later come to support, although only after tweaking it which i think has really transormed it and is the most convincing form of it that ive ever read. Professor plantinga, in your new book, warranted christian belief, you.
So, for example, there is a possible world in which i am able to execute dazzling slam dunks and a possible world in which i am lucky to make a basket at all. The ontological argument has been reintroduced into the area of analytical. Plantingas text is both a record of alvin plantingas going through the argument for his own case and an invitation to each of his readers to go through the same argument mutatis mutandis for his or her own case. An introduction to alvin plantingas modal ontological.
The logical structure of the modal ontological argument is valid, but premises are all points of contention and subject to challenge. Alvin carl plantinga born 1932 is an american analytic philosopher who works primarily in the fields of philosophy of religion, epistemology particularly on issues involving epistemic justification, and logic from 1963 to 1982, plantinga taught at calvin university before accepting an appointment as the john a. Alvin plantinga was born 15 november 1932 in ann arbor, michigan. Alvin plantinga is regarded as one of the foremost religious philosophers of the contemporary era. Alvin plantinga has 32 books on goodreads with 14036 ratings. Sep 01, 2015 a presentation of the oa from alvin plantinga. Introduction hroughout immanuel kants era, philosophers richly debated rene descartess seventeenthcentury reformulation of the ontological argument that anselm originnally advanced in the eleventh century. They try to gain objective meaning from an entirely subjective word, and fail because of it. Obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. In it, im clearly on plantingas side, and i think his work in that area represents a crucial contribution to philosophy of religion and to epistemology. However, since he proves gods existence by virtue of a premise, god a maximally great being is a possible being, that. Books by alvin plantinga author of god, freedom, and evil. A longawaited major statement by preeminent analytic philosopher alvin plantinga, where the conflict really lies illuminates one of our societys biggest debatesthe conflict between science and religion.
Daniel hill asked him all about his longawaited new book. We arrive at a notion of a winged horse by combining the notion of a horse with. Guminski examines the modal ontological argument based upon possible worlds semantics expounded by alvin plantinga and further developed and defended by william lane craig. Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists, from. On that account as it stands, a good argument could take as premises propositions that have some but less than maximal intuitive support, and take as. Sep 28, 2017 living legend alvin plantinga was recently a guest on unbelievable with justin brierley. Its sort of a nuts and bolts podcast episode on alvin plantinga, introducing the listener to his account of belief in god as a properly basic belief a belief justifiably held, but. Heres episode 36, in honour of the recent retirement of alvin plantinga as the john obrien professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. This, combined with the arrogant, smarterthanthou tone of the book, can be annoying. Where the conflict really lies science, religion, and naturalism alvin plantinga. Alvin plantinga is professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame, and is thought by many to be the most interesting philosopher of religion writing today. Employing the idea of possible worlds, plantinga skillfully expresses anselms argument in a way that helps us both to understand the argument and to see its persuasive force. Themes from richard swinburne, bergmann and brower, eds. Anselm of canterbury used a version of the argument in the 11th century ad, but it has its modern defenders as well.
Prof alvin plantinga on reasons for god alvin plantinga, professor of philosophy at the university of notre dame. Plantinga on the free will defense 125 tological proof, the atheist can, as even plantinga admits, successfully revise 2 to say. A critique of the plantinga version of the modal ontological argument 2016 by arnold t. Ontological arguments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. In god freedom and evil2 alvin plantinga advances a version of anselms famous argument, a version he holds to be a sound argument for the existence of god. This leads to trouble with the previous explanation of goodness for an argument. William lane craig considers alvin plantinga s version of the ontological argument as having the best chance of being cogent wlc 2004, p. Today, well begin with alvin plantinga s modal ontological argument for god.
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