♦ King of Diamonds
the ontological and a priori family
The Modal Ontological Argument
Alvin Carl Plantinga
The Nature of Necessity
DemonstrativeConcludes that something exists.
- Argument form
- Modal argument (S5: possible maximal greatness to actual)
- Concludes to
- God as such (a maximally great being, defined by omnipotence, omniscience and moral perfection)
- Premise ground
- Metaphysical (modal: there is a possible world in which a maximally great being exists; S5)
- Modal strength
- Necessary (maximal greatness is excellence in every possible world)
- What it licenses
- Period
- Twentieth Century (1974)
- Tradition
- Analytic (modal)
Further reading
- Source text, public domain
The Nature of NecessityNot Available - A scholarly account
Read an exposition of the argument - A principal objection
Read the objection in full
This formulation is ours, composed from the primary source and compressed to fit the card; the argument admits of other statements. Objections have been made to every argument in the deck; where one is linked above, it is chosen by us, not written by us.
ergocards.com/modal
© 2026 Athens & Jerusalem. All rights reserved.