Kant Overview Kant's Critique of the Ontological Argument Arguments for the Dependency of the Cosmological on the Ontological Argument Attack on the Idea of Necessary Existence Kant's Critique of the Closure of the Cosmological Argument Kant's Views on the Limits of Human Reason Kant's Critique of the Ontological Argument Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Pure Reason , offered some of the most influential criticisms of the classical proofs of God's existence. The most original aspect of Kant's criticism of the cosmological argument is his attempt to establish a linkage between it and the so-called ontological argument. Consequently, we must begin by examining the ontological proof and Kant's critique of it. The ontological argument was first developed by Anselm of Canterbury, a 12th century cleric and philosopher. Philosophers and scholars have found several distinct threads in Anselm's work.
Existence is a perfection.
Therefore, it is inconceivable that God does not exist. Kant offers two main arguments against this proof. His first criticism is a traditional one, which had been used by Aquinas and many other medieval philosophers. Aquinas certainly would have agreed with Kant in this objection, since for us, the question of the essence of a thing and the question of the existence of a thing are always two separate questions. This remains true even if the essence and the existence of a thing happen to be, in fact, identical.