Norman Malcolm - Ontological Argument

Norman Malcolm was a 20^th Century philosopher, and his ontological argument focused on the premise of Anselm’s second argument that God exists necessarily.

Malcolm’s argument goes as follows:

1. If  God does not exist, his existence is impossible
2. If God does exist, his existence is necessary
3. God’s existence is either impossible or necessary
4. God’s existence is not impossible
5. Therefore, God exists necessarily

Malcolm implicitly defines God as immutable (possible point of criticism as he is making an assumption), meaning he is unchangeable. In terms of the argument, this means that God would not change from non-existence to existence as it is impossible, so God’s existence is either necessarily true or necessarily false (see below).

Malcolm outlines four possibilities about God’s existence:

1. Necessarily false - God can’t exist
2. Contingently false – God could but doesn’t exist
3. Contingently true – God could and does exist
4. Necessarily false – God has to exist

Malcolm argues that the existence of an unlimited being is only logically impossible if the concept of an unlimited being is contradictory. “The square is round” for example, is logically absurd and contradictory, whereas the statement “God exists” is not impossible in the same way, so is not a contradiction. Therefore, it is not valid to say that God’s existence is impossible, so he must exist necessarily.