phisophical fragments the absolute paradox
 

Lecture Notes, Philosophy 151

Kierkegaard on God
November 7, 1995

The ontological argument (or "proof") for God's existence proceeds a priori, on the basis of reason alone. All that is needed is the correct conception of God, and God's existence can be seen to be contained in that very conception. In Anselm's argument, God is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." For Descartes, God is "the perfect being." For Leibniz's follower Wolff (the target of Kant's criticism), God is "the most real being." Spinoza combines the last two by identifying perfection and reality.