God/arguments for/Gödel
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[edit] About
Gödel's ontological proof is a supposed mathematical proof of the existence of God; it is a formalization of Saint Anselm's ontological argument by legendary mathematician Kurt Gödel.
However, it is basically wordplay (as are many such proofs) which commits the logical fallacy of assuming the conclusion.
[edit] Argument
The argument can be paraphrased thusly:
- The definition of God is that it is an entity possessing only positive qualities.
- Not existing would be a negative quality.
- Therefore God must exist.
This boils down to a claim that "If an entity possessing only positive qualities existed, then it couldn't not exist." – which doesn't prove anything at all.
