“St. Anselm argued that since we can imagine a perfect being, he must exist—because he would not be perfect without the added perfection of existence. This so-called ontological argument was more or less promptly attacked on two grounds: (1) Can we imagine a completely perfect being? (2) Is it obvious that perfection is augmented by existence? To the modern ear such pious arguments seem to be about words and definitions rather than about external reality.”

—  Carl Sagan , book Broca's Brain

Source: Broca's Brain (1979), Chapter 8, “Norman Bloom, Messenger of God” (p. 152)

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American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science ed… 1934–1996

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