Tran 1
Han Tran
Steve Stakland
PHI 101
April 17, 2021
Ontological Argument on the Existence of God
The ontological argument on God’s existence dates back to the 11th century under a
Christian Theologian, Saint Anselm. Religion affiliations say God is the creator, sustainer and
perfect being responsible for our existence. He defined God as a being that no greater can be
conceived. The argument says the supernatural being exists despite denials from people about its
being. If anything exists in the mind, then it also exists in reality. It forms the argument about the
existence both in reality and the mind. Since Anselm’s argument, a few philosophical ideas came
out to further the interest and discussion.
The argument takes five simplified forms to explain its relevance. First, either God exists
in the mind alone or both in the mind and external reality. Second, accepting God as a perfect
being with no replacement implies God also exists in our minds. Third, if God is bigger than any
creature around with unlimited power, it means God cannot exist in the mind alone. If God
existed in the mind alone, people should conceive a creature or supernatural being more
prominent than the mind can conceive. Finally, God exists both in the mind and external reality.
Metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology relate differently to the argument. Each aspect tags
along with distinct interpretations regarding the existence of God.
Tran 2
The existence of God is an idea beyond human perception or senses. Generally, many
traditions lack a clear definition or way to explain if God exists. A few questions surround
existence of God. It remains unclear whether God is simple or complex. Is he omnipotent and
omnipresent? In metaphysics, it is a challenge defining existence of God, especially if objects
should constitute a subject matter (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2021). Philosophers
may fail to conclude whether God exists because it is in no way related to unchanging things in
the problem of free will.
In metaphysics, three issues arise regarding the subject matter on the existence of things.
It needs to address the subject matter of philosophy, dictating metaphysics as the first causes of
things. It also pertains to the analogy on metaphysics is that which does not change. What makes
