Examine the ways in which the ontological argument attempts to prove to the atheist that God exists.

We can answer this question by examining three key quotes about the Ontological Argument! 1) ‘In his heart, the fool knows there is no God' (Psalms 53) 2) '[God is] that than which nothing greater can be conceived.’(Proslogion, St. Anselm of Canterbury) 3) 'Great God in boots, the ontological argument is sound.’ (Bertrand Russell) Our first quote provides us with some contextual knowledge, which examiners like to see sprinkled into your answer. It demonstrates you know why Anselm devised this argument. Secondly, this quote illustrates that the atheist has a conception of God. This is fundamental to Anselm's first premise (which is also our second quote!) Our second quote introduces Anselm's definition of God. As aforementioned, even the atheist has a conception of God (this is necessary for their belief!). Therefore, we can see that God "exists" in the mind of both the theist and the atheist. We can now examine how Anselm's claim that existence in re (in reality) is greater than existence in intellectu (in the mind), is supported by this definition of God. As the greatest possible thing, God de dicto (by definition) must exist in re as this is a better way of existing. Our third quote allows us to examine the logic of the argument. We will explore how a priori  arguments work and the concept of validity. Examines like to see this broader awareness of Philosophy and will be impressed how you can apply it to the question they are asking!