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In this presentation of the argument, steps 2 through 4 are mostly agreed upon. The conclusion rests on step 1. That is, if the idea of a Maximally Great Being - God - is logically coherent, then this being does exist. It was Anselm's response, then, to Gaunilo, that created the circular reasoning. His response was wrong. The maximally great island does not exist because it does not fit step 1. This maximally great island exists in no possible world, because the qualities that make an island great are subjective, not objective. While one person may want sand all over the ideal island, Anakin Skywalker may think that any island containing any sand is a bad one. There are objective qualities, however, when it comes to a being: moral perfection, omnipresence, optipotence, etc.

In this presentation of the argument, steps 2 through 4 are mostly agreed upon. The conclusion rests on step 1. That is, if the idea of a Maximally Great Being - God - is logically coherent, then this being does exist. It was Anselm's response, then, to Gaunilo, that created the circular reasoning. His response was wrong. The maximally great island does not exist because it does not fit step 1. This maximally great island exists in no possible world, because the qualities that make an island great are subjective, not objective. While one person may want sand all over the ideal island, Anakin Skywalker may think that any island containing any sand is a bad one. There are objective qualities, however, when it comes to a being: moral perfection, omnipresence, optipotence, etc.

== Notes ==

== Notes ==