Necessity is not evidence
May 10, 2014 at 4:38 am
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2014 at 5:17 am by Rampant.A.I..)
(May 10, 2014 at 3:22 am)MindForgedManacle Wrote:(May 10, 2014 at 3:01 am)Rampant.A.I. Wrote: Yes it is. It simply uses more floral descriptors, but relies on the same appeal to ignorance.
You really don't know what you're talking about here. They're no "floral descriptors", just an attempt at a deductive argument.Plantinga's ontological argument is not circular unless you consider ALL deductive arguments to be circular. And I very much doubt you want to get into a debate regarding the nature of argumentation.
I'm not sure why you've resorted to idle threats, but since you fancy yourself an expert yet still fail to understand the objection:
Although presented as a deductive argument, Plantinga's modal argument presupposes <God exists> and relies on that presupposition to "deduct" the conclusion.
Plato.Stanford.Edu Wrote:One general criticism of ontological arguments which have appeared hitherto is this: none of them is persuasive, i.e., none of them provides those who do not already accept the conclusion that God existsno religious significance, or else falls prey to more than one of the above failings.
I can only assume, as an expert, you're already aware of these failings; so it seems you're attempting to force acceptance of the premises and conclusion, when I've already stated the premises require the presupposition of to lead to the related conclusion, and as such do not reasonably follow.
Plato.Stanford.Edu Wrote:Plainly enough, non-theists and necessitarian theists disagree about the layout of logical space, i.e., the space of possible worlds. The sample argument consists, in effect, of two premises: one which says that God exists in at least one possible world; and one which says that God exists in all possible worlds if God exists in any. It is perfectly obvious that no non-theist can accept this pair of premises. Of course, a non-theist can allow—if they wish—that there are possible worlds in which there are contingent Gods. However, it is quite clear that no rational, reflective, etc. non-theist will accept the pair of premises in the sample argument.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ontolo...arguments/
This modal argument begins with several presupposed premises: other deductive arguments that do not begin with presupposed premises. Which is the objection I initially raised.
Plantinga himself states:
Alvin Plantinga Wrote:“Our verdict on these reformulated versions of St. Anselm's argument must be as follows. They cannot, perhaps, be said to prove or establish their conclusion. But since it is rational to accept their central premise, they do show that it is rational to accept that conclusion” (Plantinga 1974, 221).
That's his opinion. The only thing holding up Plantinga's modal ontological argument is an agreement that the central premise is rational, I.e. by extension the argument is in effect:
Presupposing: <it is possible God Exists>
To conclude: Therefore <God Exists>
By Plantinga's own admission.
Or, more directly stated: If we presuppose: <God Exists>
We can reasonably conclude: <God Exists>
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ontolo...#PlaOntArg