In Behalf of the Fool Summary and Analysis

The Appendix of Anselm: Basic Writings contains two documents, Gaunilo's "In Behalf of the Fool" and Anselm's reply. Gaunilo's piece is a critique of Anselm's ontological argument in the Proslogium. Gaunilo's argument is that Anselm's Ontological Argument, if correct, proves too much. He gives the famous counterexample of the greatest conceivable island. To explain, on Anselm's view, God is greater than a being with all of God's properties save existence (God*) because God possesses existence and God* does not. And since it is greater to exist than not to exist, God must exist because if He didn't, He would not be the greatest conceivable being. Gaunilo draws an analogy with the greatest conceivable island. The Greatest Conceivable Island is greater than an island with all of the Island's properties save existence (Island*) because...