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.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

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 ⓘ
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” ⓘ
linked to: Anselm's Proslogion
critiquesArgument ontological argument for the existence of God ⓘ
critiquesWork Anselm’s Proslogion ⓘ
linked to: Anselm's Proslogion
genre philosophical-theological treatise ⓘ
polemical text ⓘ
historicalPeriod Middle Ages ⓘ
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 ⓘ
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 ⓘ
linked to: Anselm's Proslogion
regionOfOrigin medieval France ⓘ
religiousContext Christianity ⓘ
respondsTo Proslogion II ⓘ
linked to: Proslogion

Proslogion III ⓘ
linked to: Proslogion
statusInScholarship standard early critique of ontological arguments ⓘ
theologicalContext Benedictine monastic theology ⓘ
titleAlludesTo “the fool” of Psalm 14:1 ⓘ
usesExample perfect island ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Proslogion → relatedWork → Gaunilo’s “On Behalf of the Fool” ⓘ
Anselm's Proslogion → hasCommentary → Gaunilo's On Behalf of the Fool ⓘ
linked to: Gaunilo’s “On Behalf of the Fool”
Ontological argument for the existence of God → famousCritique → Gaunilo’s perfect island objection ⓘ
linked to: Gaunilo’s “On Behalf of the Fool”