Anselm's Proslogion, Chapter II--The Ontological Proof of God Essay

Anselm's Proslogion, Chapter II--The Ontological Proof of God - Essay Example However, to maintain the position, the atheist would have to add another attribute, that of â€Å"existing in reality,† to supposedly make it the â€Å"greatest possible being†. It is just as if someone had claimed 7 to be the â€Å"largest possible number†; you could always add a number to make it greater. And when an atheist does add the attribute of existence, then he is no longer an atheist. This is a brief summary of the ontological argument. The immediate response this argument received was from Gaunilo of Marmoutiers, a Benedictine monk, who predictably flipped the tables and applied the same set of arguments to prove the existence of the Lost Island, in order to demonstrate how the argument is fundamentally flawed. However, the argument was critiqued on the grounds that the very concept of â€Å"the greatest conceivable being† does not apply to Islands, or any objects as such, and that it applies to God alone. One of the popular criticisms of St. Anselm’s argument is theological, proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica, who questioned the soundness of the initial premise of Anselm’s argument, stating one cannot possibly know the essence of God; ergo it is beyond humanly possible to adequately consider that premise. He also strikes a major blow to the first premise, pointing out that not everyone necessarily conceives God to be the ‘greatest possible being’, seeing that some have believed God to be a body. The criticism leveled by St. Thomas Aquinas was so strong, that it was said to have laid the argument dormant for centuries. David Hume also leveled a criticism against cosmological argument in his work Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, which broadly applies to the Ontological Argument as well. Hume stated that existence of something cannott be established based on a priori reasoning. And whatever we

Exceptionalism, Isolationism, and expansionism with reference to Essay

Exceptionalism, Isolationism, and expansionism with reference to videos and assigned readings - Essay Example An examination of a developed country’s foreign policy such as America is essential in determining the importance of an effective foreign policy. A critical analysis of the American foreign policy portrays an interconnection of exceptionalism, isolationism, and expansionism. A manifestation of this interconnection is clearly seen during the Mexican - American War. This is because the war arguably marks the first steps of America’s rise to a global power. The Mexican – American War revolved around territorial disputes between America and Mexico. This implies that the entire Mexican – American War can be considered to be based upon American expansionism. This is because America sought to expand its territories into Mexico in areas considered to have some significance. America claimed that the border was at Rio Grande while Mexico argued that the border was at Nueces River. A border at Rio Grande meant that Mexico would lose a significant portion of land to America. In 1945, President Polk sent American troops under the leadership of General Zachary Taylor to the Nueces River to take over the disputed land. Polk’s actions can be considered to have been facilitated by his position as provided by America’s foreign policy where the president is recognized as the commander in chief of the army and navy. America’s presence was met by opposition from the Mexican troops at a time that saw the death of 11 Ame rican soldiers and imprisonment of several more (The Mexican American War, 2006). However, this was followed by a series of other conflicts in Mexico in which the American troops occasionally emerged victorious and consequently the occupation of Mexico City by Americans. In addition to increased expansion interests to the South, America also had keen interest in expanding the Northern borders such as California. This period that saw increased concentration on expansion can be considered to have marked America’s first attempts of becoming a