Abstract

This paper presents an original a priori argument for the existence of the Holy Trinity. The argument is based on the notion of exaltation. It will be argued that ‘being exalted’ is a great-making property, and that a divine individual, as possessing all such properties, must also possess the property of ‘being exalted’. For a divine individual to possess this property, a second divine individual must exalt the first, since only in this way do we avoid both the hubris of mere self-exaltation, and avoid the danger of necessitating creation. It is finally argued that third-party recognition of this exaltation renders it a more perfect form of exaltation. The paper begins by considering the most important historical examples of a priori arguments for the Trinity to emphasise the centrality of these arguments within Christian philosophy, providing justification for their development. The argument will then be presented, before such objections are raised: problems with perfect being theology, problems with Social Trinitarianism and the problem of anthropomorphism.