Ontological Argument, Mystical Experiences and the Possibility of the Existence of God
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26512/2358-82842023e51918Keywords:
ontological argument, ontomystical argument, God, mystical experiencesAbstract
This paper addresses the role of mystical experiences in debates on the ontological argument, which historically has been conceived as an a priori argument. It begins with an analysis of the “ontomystical” argument put forth by Pruss (2001), which uses mystical experiences and Śamkara’s principle in support of the crucial premise of the modal ontological argument, namely, the claim that God’s existence is possible. The second part of the paper draws on mystical experiences and other types of evidence for the existence of God, indicating a route for a cumulative defence of that crucial premise. This is done by means of arguments that claim, with some reasonableness, that it is plausible to think (i) that there is a necessary being that serves as a foundation for all contingent beings, (ii) that there is an omniscient mind that serves as a foundation for all abstract objects, and (iii) that it is possible to instantiate the degree of a highest value in the actual world.
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