Philosophy A Level

Watch the following video and create a mind map for the ontological argument.

Extras

1. Summarise the arguments highlighted in yellow 
2. Choose an argument highlighted in green from the list and say how you go about researching it – try and research the argument and summarise it – say how you found your information (Spinoza is done as an example)

1078
St. Anselm, Proslogion. Followed soon after by Gaunilo’s critique In Behalf of the Fool.

1262
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa. Criticises an argument which somehow descends from St. Anselm.

1637
Descartes, Discourse on Method. The argument of Discourse 4 is further elaborated in the Meditations. The Objections—particularly those of Caterus and Gassendi—and the Replies contain much valuable discussion of the Cartesian arguments.

c1680
Spinoza, Ethics. Intimations of a defensible mereological ontological argument, albeit one whose conclusion is not (obviously) endowed with religious significance.

Example: I searched in Google for Spinoza ontological arguments – I found an article called Spinoza’s Ontological Argument by Don Garrett in J Store (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2184506?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents) and I read an article page for Spinoza. From here I found a book on ontological argument where I found a summary of Spinoza ontological argument where he concludes that either nothing exists or God exists out of necessity. The source of wisdom is called Ethics.

1709
Leibniz, New Essays Concerning Human Understanding. Contains Leibniz’s attempt to complete the Cartesian argument by showing that the Cartesian conception of God is not inconsistent.

1776
Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Part IX is a general attack on a priori arguments (both analytic and synthetic). Includes a purported demonstration that no such arguments can be any good.

1787
Kant, Critique of Pure Reason. Contains famous attack on traditional theistic arguments. Three objections to “the ontological argument”, including the famous objection based on the dictum that existence is not a predicate.

1831
Hegel, Lectures of 1831. In these lectures, Hegel says that “the ontological argument” succeeds. However, he does not make it clear what he takes the premises of “the ontological argument” to be; and nor does he make it clear what it would be for “the ontological argument” to succeed. Some scholars have claimed that the entire Hegelian corpus constitutes an ontological argument.

1884
Frege, Foundations of Arithmetic. Existence is a second-order predicate. First-order existence claims are meaningless. So ontological arguments—whose conclusions are first-order existence claims—are doomed.

1941
Hartshorne, Man’s Vision of God. Defence of modal ontological arguments, allegedly derived from Proslogion 3.

1970
Lewis, “Anselm and Actuality”. A key critique of ontological arguments. All ontological arguments are either invalid or question-begging; moreover, in many cases, they have two closely related readings, one of which falls into each of the above categories.

1974
Plantinga, The Nature of Necessity. Plantinga’s “victorious” modal ontological argument.

1995
Gödel, Collected Works Volume III. Gödel’s ontological argument.

2004
Sobel, Logic and Theism. Detailed critique of ontological arguments. See, especially, chapters 2–4, pp. 29–167.

Write in your own definition of each word below:

Work Experience

Whatever career area you’re interested in, finding some short-term paid or voluntary work will improve your prospects of getting a job and can give you a valuable insight into how a company or institution operates. It may also help you decide whether you want to work in the public, private or voluntary sector.

Entry-level work in competitive areas such as the media, PR and publishing is a good way of ‘getting a foot in the door’ and may lead to rewarding long-term work. If you want to go on to further study to become a teacher, a solicitor or barrister, you’ll also need to have some relevant work experience before you apply.

Visit HSDC’s careers service to find out about opportunities for work placements and voluntary work in a range of sectors.

Typical Employers

Philosophy graduates are found working for almost every type of employer in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Opportunities are available in arts-based areas like publishing, the media, journalism, advertising, and teaching, through to
computing and IT.

Typical employers include:

• local government and the Civil Service
• advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies
• management consultancies
• secondary schools, further education colleges and higher education institutions
• law firms
• publishing companies
• charities
• banking and insurance companies
• accountancy firms
• recruitment agencies.

Skills for Your CV

Studying philosophy helps you:

• analyse and construct sound arguments
• distinguish fine differences between views and find common ground
• present ideas convincingly through well-constructed, systematic arguments
• write clearly and persuasively
• generate ideas and come up with solutions to problems
• be open to new ideas and ways of thinking.

You also gain general transferable skills including:

• self-motivation and the capacity for independent study and thought
• the ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines
• flexibility and creativity
• the capacity to identify, absorb and sift complex information
• team working
• increased knowledge of IT.

Further Study

Some Philosophy graduates go on to further study in Philosophy. This could be with the intention of pursuing a career as a lecturer or simply due to their love of the subject, or both. Other related areas of interest include politics, ethics, international development and sociology.

For careers in law, lecturing and teaching, you’ll need further qualifications. In areas such as journalism and advertising, you may find a postgraduate qualification useful, but relevant work experience is essential. Research the careers that interest you to find out if you’ll need to take further study.