The Trinitarian Nature of Hegel\u27s Ontological Argument

The ontological proof is the argument for the existence of God in which we begin with our idea of God and, from this, argue for God\u27s reality. There are two reasons this argument is important in Hegel\u27s works. First, Hegel holds that of all of the arguments for the existence of God, the ontological proof alone is the true one, capable of attaining the speculative perspective in which thought and Being are recognized as united. Second, the ontological proof encapsulates the self-expressive movement of God, in which God articulates himself and then comes to know himself in this expression, which dominates Hegel\u27s divine ontology. Given its importance in Hegel\u27s thought, it is not surprising that Hegel addresses the ontological proof, both the formulations presented by his predecessors and his own articulation of the proof, in many of his works. In this chapter, we shall briefly look at Anselm\u27s version of the argument. We shall then discuss Kant\u27s influential critique of the ontological proof as it has been presented in the history of philosophy. Next, we shall examine Hegel\u27s rejection of Kant\u27s criticism of the ontological argument. Finally, we shall investigate Hegel\u27s criticisms of the ontological proof, which will prepare us for a discussion of Hegel\u27s own version of the proof..