Does St. Anselm Beg the Question?

Philosophy 50 (193):271 - 281 (1975)
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Abstract

The following objection to the ‘ontological’ argument of St Anselm has a continuing importance. The argument begs the question by introducing into the first premise the name ‘God’. In order for something to be truly talked about, to have properties truly attributed to it—it has been said—it must exist; a statement containing a vacuous name must either be false, meaningless, or lacking in truth-value, if it is not a misleading formulation to be explained by paraphrase into other terms. In any case the question of the divine existence is begged.

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Philip Devine
Providence College

Citations of this work

Does Anselm beg the question?Keith Burgess-Jackson - 2014 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 76 (1):5-18.
The circle in the ontological argument.Douglas Walton - 1978 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9 (4):193 - 218.

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References found in this work

Passion and Value in Hume's Treatise.D. G. C. Macnabb - 1968 - Philosophical Books 9 (1):2-4.
Meinong's theory of objects and values.J. N. Findlay - 1971 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 161:497-497.
"Exists" as a predicate.George Nakhnikian & Wesley C. Salmon - 1957 - Philosophical Review 66 (4):535-542.

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