Aquinas
When did Aquinas live, and what was his primary area of study?
In the medieval period, metaphysics
What device did Pascal first invent?
His first invention is a digital calculator.
How does Anselm define God?
Nothing greater can one thought, and existence is superior to non-existence.
What was Aristotle's view of infinity?
the infinite is what has no limit.
What is voluntarism?
Voluntarism is the idea that belief is a matter of decision.
How does Anselm structure his argument?
He imagines himself arguing with a fool, who denies god’s existence.
How did he explain the idea of both an eternal universe and an eternal God who created it?
God could have made the universe without humans and then made them.
What was Pascal's best-known work?
Pensées
What were the bases for his argument?
The bases for his argument were Aristotelian logic, platonic thinking, and his own genius.
How does this make people different from animals?
Animals other than humans lack this inborn capacity, which is why their knowledge cannot stretch beyond the senses.
What does he say is the most powerful force in human beings? Why?
He says the most powerful force in human beings because it causes us to trust people despite what reason tells us.
How did Gaunilo argue against Anselm?
He argued that if using the same arguement, they could prove anything like there exists somewhere a marvelous island, greater than any island that can be thought.
After Aquinas died, who were some of the people who argued against his ideas?
Scotus, Henry of Ghent
Did Pascal believe that imagination could truly lead to happiness? Why?
Happiness is the greatest thing in the world because it might seem that he is praising imagination, but we can see from what preceded this passage that his intention is very different.
Write Anselm's argument as a syllogism.
1 God is the greatest thing we can think of. Things can exist only in our imaginations, or they can also exist in reality. Things that exist in reality are always better than things that exist only in our imaginations. 2. If god existed only in our imaginations, he wouldn’t be the greatest thing that we can think of, because god, in reality, would be greater. 3. Therefore, god exists in reality.