read it slooowly
here's something i got from a friend.....
i got the text so here's something mind-boggling:
Atheists: Here's a proof of God's existence. Try disproving it. Well, you'll have to figure out just what the hell he's talking about first, but after that point...
''Therefore, Lord, you who give knowledge of the faith, give me as much knowledge as you know to be fitting for me, because you are as we believe and that which we believe. And indeed we believe you are something greater than which cannot be thought. Or is there no such kind of thing, for 'the fool said in his heart, 'there is no God'' (Ps. 13:1, 52:1)? But certainly that same fool, having heard what I just said, 'something greater than which cannot be thought,' understands what he heard, and what he understands is in his thought, even if he does not think it exists. For it is one thing for something to exist in a person's thought and quite another for the person to think that thing exists. For when a painter thinks ahead to what he will paint, he has that picture in his thought, but he does not yet think it exists, because he has not done it yet. Once he has painted it he has it in his thought and thinks it exists because he has done it. Thus even the fool is compelled to grant that something greater than which cannot be thought exists in thought, because he understands what he hears, and whatever is understood exists in thought. And certainly that greater than which cannot be understood cannot exist only in thought, for if it exists only in thought it could also be thought of as existing in reality as well, which is greater. If, therefore, that than which greater cannot be thought exists in thought alone, then that than which greater cannot be thought turns out to be that than which something greater actually can be thought, but that is obviously impossible. Therefore something than which greater cannot be thought undoubtedly exists both in thought and in reality.''
-St. Anselm
Um.... basically, the premises are that first, the greatest possible thing ('that than which nothing greater can be conceived) can be conceived in thought. We can imagine it. However, it clearly isn't the greatest thing possible if it ONLY exists in thought, because wouldn't it be greater if it actually existed, and could accomplish things? Of course. So unless the greatest thing we can conceive in thought exists not only in thought but in reality also, we have a contradiction: we've already admitted that we can THINK of the greatest thing possible, but unless it exists in reality too, it can't really BE the greatest thing possible. Therefore, it exists in reality necessarily. It's all very confusing.
Hooray for philosophical sleight of hand.
Ubersimplified version for Samck and others:
Premise 1: We can conceive, in our minds, of the greatest thing possible.
Premise 2: Something which exists in reality is greater than something which does not exist in reality.
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Conclusion: The greatest thing possible must exist in reality, or else the thing we are conceiving of in premise one isn't really the greatest thing possible.
That's a possible counterargument... but the best part about this is that you don't even have to be able to describe or admit to the existence of that than which nothing greater can be conceived... you just have to be able to grasp the concept, and you've proven its existence.
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The Law of Awesome states: Those who are more awesome will cast down those less awesome than themselves, thus climbing the Hierarchy of Awesome and maintaining a balance in the world of Awesome
Me poo you
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