Gaunilo\'s Perfect Island PDF

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

Gaunilo’s Perfect Island Review of Anselm’s Ont. Arg. Anselm’s Ont. Arg:

• (1) A supreme being exists in the understanding. • (2) If (1), then a supreme being must also exist in reality. • (3) Therefore, a supreme being must also exist in reality. - Opponent must accept these premises unless atheist. First premise has to be true. The 2nd premise has a strategy

- Reductio Ad Absurdum: • Assume the negation of what you’re trying to prove, and then show that some absorb consequence follows.

- (If the antecedent is true but what follows is false) • (i) Suppose that the supreme being doesn't exist in reality, but only in the understanding.

• (ii) Then, we can conceive of a being that has all the perfections of this allegedly supreme being, but that also exists in reality.

• (iii) Then, we can conceive of a being that’s greater than the allegedly supreme being.

• (iv) But this is a contradiction, so (i) must be false. Gaunilo’s Perfect Island Objection

- Feedback to Anselm’s Ont. Argument - Gaunilo does NOT believe in the perfect island - Point of the argument is that something has gone terribly wrong if we can prove a perfect island exists in reality

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Thursday, April 7, 2016 Gaunilo’s Perfect Island Objection:

- (1) A perfect island exists in the understanding. F! Anselm actually thinks this premise is false. It could always be a little bit better. No perfect spouse either.

- (2) If (1), then a perfect island must also exist in reality. F - (3) A perfect island must also exist in reality. ***If second premise is false in perfect island, then the second premise is also wrong in Anselm’s argument. Attributes of a Perfect Island

- Beautiful sunrises/sunsets - Palm trees with coconuts - Blue water - White sand beaches - Good food - Social Opportunities - Existence - Island in our imagination is it was made real would be greater than the greatest conceivable island so our assumption must be false that it exists in reality.

- Anselm thinks Gaunilo’s objection is wrong by illustrates something really important about a perfect being versus a perfect island

Indeterminate Perfections v. Determinate Perfections

- Indeterminate Perfections: Attributes for which there are not clear criteria for possessing them.

- Determinate Perfections: Good-making attributes for which there are clear criteria for possessing them.

- Wouldn't beaches be nicer if they had three beaches instead of two? • Isn't 4 better than 3? 2

Thursday, April 7, 2016

• No matter what number of white sand beaches it would always be a little bit better if you added one to it

• It always be improved • No matter how you conceive the perfect island, it could always be a little bit better

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