Gaunilo’s “On Behalf of the Fool”
E835268
Gaunilo’s “On Behalf of the Fool” is a medieval critique of Anselm’s ontological argument, using the example of a perfect island to challenge the claim that God’s existence can be proven purely by reason.
Statements (42)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
medieval text
ⓘ
philosophical work ⓘ theological critique ⓘ |
| aimsToShow | Anselm’s proof form is too broad and leads to absurd conclusions ⓘ |
| approximateDate | late 11th century ⓘ |
| argumentativeStrategy | reductio ad absurdum ⓘ |
| author | Gaunilo of Marmoutiers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralClaim |
Anselm’s reasoning could prove the existence of non-existent perfect objects
ⓘ
existence cannot be inferred from the concept of a greatest conceivable being alone ⓘ |
| circulation | manuscript tradition ⓘ |
| counteredBy | Anselm’s “Reply to Gaunilo” NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| critiquesArgument | ontological argument for the existence of God ⓘ |
| critiquesWork | Anselm’s Proslogion NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
philosophical-theological treatise
ⓘ
polemical text ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | Middle Ages NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influenced |
later critiques of ontological arguments
ⓘ
modern discussions of parody objections in philosophy of religion ⓘ |
| intendedAudience | Christian intellectuals ⓘ |
| keyConcept |
conceptual existence vs. real existence
ⓘ
greatest conceivable being ⓘ parody argument ⓘ |
| language | Latin ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
Anselm’s ontological argument
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
existence of God ⓘ |
| method |
conceptual analysis
ⓘ
logical critique ⓘ |
| modernRelevance | frequently anthologized in philosophy of religion readers ⓘ |
| philosophicalDiscipline |
medieval philosophy
ⓘ
natural theology ⓘ philosophy of religion ⓘ |
| philosophicalStance | emphasizes limits of a priori reasoning about existence ⓘ |
| positionOnAnselm | rejects validity of Anselm’s ontological proof ⓘ |
| preservedWith | Anselm’s Proslogion NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| regionOfOrigin | medieval France ⓘ |
| religiousContext | Christianity ⓘ |
| respondsTo |
Proslogion II
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Proslogion III NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statusInScholarship | standard early critique of ontological arguments ⓘ |
| theologicalContext | Benedictine monastic theology ⓘ |
| titleAlludesTo | “the fool” of Psalm 14:1 ⓘ |
| usesExample | perfect island ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.