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Explain the ontological argument from Anselm and Descartes. "Ontological" literally means, "concerned with being". The ontological argument attempts to prove God's existence through theoretical reasoning alone. The argument is entirely a priori, meaning it involves no empirical evidence at all. Rather, the argument begins with an explanation of the concept of God, and seeks to demonstrate that God exists on the basis of that concept alone. It does not rely on our observations of the universe, the world around us. It uses logic, and the idea that it is illogical to say that God does not exist, as its main argument. This argument was most classically put forward by Anselm (1033-1109) in his book entitled "Proslogion". The argument was criticised in his own time and centuries later by philosophers such as Aquinas and Kant. Among those who have supported it lays Descartes. The argument works better for those who...

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