Showing posts with label perfect being. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfect being. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

An ontological argument from the essentiality of origins

  1. (Premise) If a perfect being can't desire a state of affairs A, then A is not a good state of affairs.
  2. (Premise) A perfect being can't desire any state of affairs incompatible with the existence of a perfect being.
  3. (Premise) Necessarily, if a perfect being exists and if Jean Vanier (or Barack Obama or some other person you admire) exists, then Jean Vanier (etc.) is created by the perfect being.
  4. (Premise) If x is not created by a perfect being, then x cannot be created by a perfect being. (Essentiality of origins)
  5. (Premise) The state of affairs of Jean Vanier (etc.) existing is good.
  6. So, a perfect being can desire Jean Vanier (etc.) to exist. (1 and 5)
  7. So, Jean Vanier's (etc.) existence is compatible with the existence of a perfect being. (2 and 6)
  8. So, possibly a perfect being exists and creates Jean Vanier (etc.). (3 and 7)
  9. So, a perfect being created Jean Vanier (etc.). (4 and 8)
  10. So, a perfect being exists. (9)

[Note added later: This was, of course, written before the revelations about Jean Vanier's abusiveness. I would certainly have chosen a different example if I were writing this post now.]