In This Reading We Encounter St

question 3

True/False

In this reading we encounter St. Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God and Gaunilo's reply. The argument goes like this: God is by definition "a being than which nothing greater can be conceived." If God, the greatest being that can be conceived, exists only in our minds, then there must be a being greater than God-that is, a God that exists in reality (an existing being is greater than an imaginary one). But this leads to a contradiction: A being greater than God is impossible. Therefore, God must exist in reality (as well as in the mind). Gaunilo replies that if Anselm's reasoning were sound, we could prove something ridiculous-namely, that the greatest island possible exists in reality.
-Anselm's argument rests on ideas about the design of the world.

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Definitions:

Rival

In economic terms, a good or service that cannot be enjoyed or consumed by more than one person at the same time.

Artificially Scarce Good

A product or service whose supply is deliberately limited, often to maintain high prices or for other non-market reasons.

Excludable

Excludable describes a good or service that one can prevent others from using unless they pay for it, characterized by the ability to exclude non-payers.

Nonrival

A characteristic of a good whereby one person's consumption does not reduce availability to others, often associated with public goods.