Q&A: Argumentum Ornithologicum
Argumentum Ornithologicum
Question
Could you explain the following passage, and also give your opinion on whether it is valid?
“I close my eyes and see a flock of birds. The vision lasts a second, or perhaps even less; I do not know how many birds I saw. Was their number definite or indefinite? The question is bound up with the problem of the existence of God. If God exists, the number is definite, because God knows how many birds I saw. If God does not exist, the number is indefinite, because there is no one who can keep track of the count. In that case, I saw fewer than ten birds (let us say) and more than one bird, but I did not see nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, or two. I saw a number between one and ten, which is not nine, eight, seven, six, five, etc. This whole number is inconceivable; therefore, God exists.”
(Jorge Luis Borges, “Argumentum Ornithologicum,”
from: That Nothing Is Known: Writings on Faith, translated by: Uri Ben-David, Carmel 2014)
Answer
Nonsense in the extreme. Their number is definite whether God saw them or not. The fact that you did not see what the number was does not mean there is no number.