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Full Idea
Anselm's first proof fails, because he treats existence as being a perfection, which it isn't, because that would make it a real predicate.
Gist of Idea
Anselm's first proof fails because existence isn't a real predicate, so it can't be a perfection
Source
comment on Anselm (Proslogion [1090], Ch 2) by Norman Malcolm - Anselm's Argument Sect I
Book Ref
'The Existence of God', ed/tr. Hick,John [Macmillan 1964], p.51
A Reaction
Not everyone accepts Kant's claim that existence cannot be a predicate. They all seem to know what a perfection is. Can the Mona Lisa (an object) not be a perfection? Must it be broken down into perfect predicates?
| 21241 | Even the fool can hold 'a being than which none greater exists' in his understanding [Anselm] |
| 21242 | If that than which a greater cannot be thought actually exists, that is greater than the mere idea [Anselm] |
| 1420 | Anselm's first proof fails because existence isn't a real predicate, so it can't be a perfection [Malcolm on Anselm] |
| 21244 | Conceiving a greater being than God leads to absurdity [Anselm] |
| 21243 | An existing thing is even greater if its non-existence is inconceivable [Anselm] |
| 1421 | A perfection must be independent and unlimited, and the necessary existence of Anselm's second proof gives this [Malcolm on Anselm] |
| 21245 | The word 'God' can be denied, but understanding shows God must exist [Anselm] |
| 21246 | Guanilo says a supremely fertile island must exist, just because we can conceive it [Anselm] |
| 21247 | Nonexistence is impossible for the greatest thinkable thing, which has no beginning or end [Anselm] |