Modal Forms of the Ontological Argument in Analytical Theology

At the beginning of the article an attempt is made to divide the ontological proof for the existence of God into “scholastic” and “logical”, then a description of both forms of proof is given. Next, the modal ontological argument is examined using the works of N. Malcolm, C. Hartshorne, D. Lewis, and A. Plantinga as examples. The article shows that in the modal ontological argument the attribute of God’s “perfection” is interpreted in terms of the “necessity” of His existence. Further, if we admit that the Perfect Being exists, then It necessarily exists in one of the possible worlds. But the Necessary Being must exist in every possible world. The real world is one of the possible worlds. Therefore, God exists. So, the modal ontological argument points to the realization of God’s attributes in possible worlds, and therefore in the actual world. The article suggests that, despite the fact that the modal ontological argument seems to be an expression of pure logic, it paves the way from the theology of being to the theology of time. As a result, the idea of the Absolute as the unity of potential and act, the source of infinite creativity and freedom, is formed. As the most important source of the theology of time, the article considers the philosophy of late Schelling, based on the distinction between positive and negative philosophy.