Anselm of Canterbury

The argument for the existence of God will always give rise to infinitive points of view. St. Anselm (c. 1033- April 21, 1109) was an Italian monk who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury developed one of the most notable Ontological Arguments of all time. St. Anselm 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. Although…

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…

demonstration of the existence of God. Perhaps one of the most famous ontological arguments presented was by St. Anselm (1033-1109) who was an Archbishop of Canterbury and Abbot of Bec. He presented his argument in his book Proslogion. Anslem’s expectation for his argument was for it to help him understand the nature of God, and possibly persuade a non-believer of the existence of God. First, Anselm describes his way of classifying unknown things as truly existing or not. He states that…

Anselm bases his argument on the hierarchy of being, at the bottom of the hierarchy is elements and at the top is God. This idea of that than which nothing greater can be thought or simplified as TTWNGCBT, exists in a person’s mind as well as in the world…

by using logic, reason, and shared evidence. Scripture, religious experience, and divine revelation are all used as tools. Many great philosophers such as Descartes and David Lewis also used ontological arguments, but Medieval Theologian St. Anselm of Canterbury argument is the most well-known. Anselm’s begins under the premise that his argument is specifically for the Judeo-Christian God, which is defined as being the greatest conceivable…

The ontological argument, first proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, is an argument that uses premises and reason to prove that God exists. In this paper, I will explain Anselm’s arguments for the existence of God and Guanilo’s response against Anselm’s reasoning. I will then evaluate the arguments given by both Anselm and Gaunilo. In his work, Proslogion, Anselm uses reductio ad absurdum to argue that God exists. Reductio ad absurdum is a form of argument where a premise is disproven by following…

Saint Anselm was a Benedictine monk, philosopher, and scholar. He is recognized for his explanation of faith. He paved the way and defined theology as “faith seeking understanding”. His works in monologium justify Gods existence and his work in proslogium give more insight into the idea that God does indeed exist. He was born near Aosta Italy in 1033, he was taught by monks from an early age. He went to Lanfranc’s abbey and they began to teach at their school and it was during those days that he…

Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas, well-established theologians in the history of Christianity, aimed to probe the unexplored and insufficiently answered questions of their faith. In their arguments, presented in Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo and Aquinas’ Summa Theologia, each presents a desire to better understand his religion from within its own ideology. Aquinas and Anselm both rely on the premises of Christianity as the foundational support of their arguments, ruling out the possibility that…

‘exist’. The ontological argument states that God does indeed exist because he is the thought of God can be conceived. The argument was first proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, a monk and christian philosopher. Anselm believed that God was the greatest being conceived and that there was no other being more powerful than God. According to Anselm, if something is perfect, then it couldn’t possibly be better than it is; there can’t be anything better than perfection. This means that if a thing is…

damnation as punishment for sin, Julian reconstructs the character of God in opposition to the views by explaining the act of the Incarnation not as an economic transaction required in attempts to appease God’s righteous vengeance as argued by Anselm of Canterbury, but rather as an example of the overwhelming mercy, grace, and love of God. Although this revolutionary theology is presented in a highly Orthodox manner, Julian’s positive attitude towards sin seemed to be quite eccentric and…