Abstract
The authors investigate the ontological argument computation-
ally. The premises and conclusion of the argument are repre-
sented in the syntax understood by the automated reasoning engine
prover9. Using the logic of denite descriptions, the authors de-
veloped a valid representation of the argument that required three
non-logical premises. prover9, however, discovered a simpler valid
argument for Gods existence from a single non-logical premise. Re-
ducing the argument to one non-logical premise brings the investi-
gation of the soundness of the argument into better focus. Also, the
simpler representation of the argument brings out clearly how the
ontological argument constitutes an early example of a diagonal ar-
gument and, moreover, one used to establish a positive conclusion
rather than a paradox.