Anselm's Ontological Argument for the Existence of God Part 1

Does God exist? Anselm argues that not only does God exist, but once we have a clear understanding of the nature of God, it will be clear that God exists and we cannot even deny that. Here I describe his famous (or infamous to some) ontological argument based on the idea that God is something than which nothing greater can be thought. Part Two considers objections to the argument.

[OmnipresentPotato]

Question (as a theist myself): Can't this argument be used to justify the existence of many other things? Like, the greatest bowl of spaghetti is one greater than which another bowl of spaghetti can never be conceived. This bowl of spaghetti exists in the mind alone. But a greater bowl of spaghetti would be one that exists in real life as well as in the mind, which means a greater bowl of spaghetti can be conceived. Therefore, the greatest bowl of spaghetti cannot exist in the mind alone and must exist as well in reality.

[louismancha]

Thanks for setting up the argument in this way. I believe it at least stays more faithful to the text, particularly when it comes to interpreting premise 3 (which is quite different from what Descartes had in mind in the 5th Med argument, for example, and avoids the Kantian objection). Also, it's refreshing to see your note at the end. All too often I have to explain to my undergrads that many of the arguments for the existence of God come in 2 parts (which is why Humean objections are a little premature), unlike Anselm's. Nice job.