The Medieval Sourcebook For Anselm s 1033-1009 Proslogium

In the Medieval Sourcebook for Anselm’s 1033-1009 Proslogium, Aselm constructs an argument in which it is a deductive ontological argument. Aselm attempts to prove the existence of God through one single argument which is that God does truly exist. However, there will always be dilemmas, conflicts or predicaments when it comes to such sensitive and personal topics such as the existence of God. Atheists are types of people who do not believe in the existence of God and have been continuously denying his existence. I personally am Christian and I therefore have a strong belief in God. That being said, my belief and theories are in relation to family, experiences, culture, etc. In Aselm’s discourse, he shows that his argument is different†¦show more content†¦This means that Aslem’s belief that God is the greatest and most significant human being is unreliable and conflicting. For God to exist, one must accept that God exists in both the mind and reality. T he diagram below is an argument diagram to demonstrate this mean of his reasoning. On the other hand, Guanilo who was an 11th century monk criticized Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God. Gaunilo makes a completely parallel argument to Anselm’s argument in which the parallel is about a lost perfect island. Guanilo argues that Anselm’s ontological argument is a failure because reasoning of the same kind would compel one to conclude that many things exist but it is certain that they do not. Guanilo thought that the human intellect is only able to understand information that went through the process of experience. In Guanilo’s â€Å"Lost Island† refutation, he used a parallel by replacing God with the idea of a â€Å"lost perfect island†. An island that was so great that we cannot conceive an island that is greater. In Guanilo’s point of view, Anselm’s ontological argument only works if the existence of a lost perfect island also works as the two arguments give the same logical form. To summariz e Guanilo’s response to Anselm, if Anselm’s proof for the existence of a greatest conceivable being were reliable, then we can also give reliable proof for the existence of a greatest conceivable island. He also says that we cannot