Abstract
The following is a version of what, since Kant, has been called ‘the ontological argument,’ that is, an argument from the concept of a supremely perfect being to the existence of such a being:
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The concept of a supremely perfect being is, in part, the concept of a person who has all those properties which are such that it is better than not that a person jointly possesses them. Wisdom and power are examples. (I say ‘jointly’ because, for example, power without wisdom is not a perfection.)
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The concept of existence is the concept of such a property.
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So, it is a conceptual truth that a supremely perfect being possesses the property of existence.
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Hence, a supremely perfect being exists.
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© 1996 Clement Dore
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Dore, C. (1996). The Concept of Supreme Perfection: Some Arguments for God’s Existence. In: On the Existence and Relevance of God. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24340-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24340-2_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-24342-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24340-2
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