Anselm's Argument For The Existence Of God

The argument for the existence of God will always give rise to infinitive points of view. St. Anselm (c. 1033- April 21, 1109) was distinguished philosopher, scholar, theologian and an Italian monk who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. His thinking and writings about God and the disposition of faith has influenced and fascinated scholars and philosophers since the Middle Ages—some would even say he is the most important Christian thinker of the 11th century. In his highly respected work called Proslogium Anselm attempts to replace the multiple arguments made in his previous work, the Monologian, with a single argument: his ontological argument for the existence of God. He proposes that if God can be thought of and perceived, then he must exist. Anselm defines God as that than which nothing greater can be conceived—meaning no one can think of anything better than God. What is unique about Anselm’s argument for this time period is that he …show more content…
Christianity could be considered to be the most prominent part of English culture in the 11th century. Just like today, people believe in God because it gives their life meaning, gives them a reason for living, and provides comfort and security. It is likely that many of Anselm’s readers already believed in God and viewed his argument as confirmation of their belief. So, it makes sense why Anselm’s argument would rely on one’s pre-existing belief in God. St. Anselm was an extremely religious man; he was the Archbishop of Canterbury for 16 years. Despite the fact that Anselm addresses the “fool” that does not believe in God, I think it is very possible that Anselm struggled with fully understanding that one could truly not believe in God at all. He may not have been capable of successfully developing an argument that could apply to those that have absolutely zero belief in God because he could not comprehend how one did not believe in