He originated the ontological argument for the existence of god in his treatise proslogium or proslogion. Analysis of the ontological argument philosophy essay. An ontological argument is an a priori demonstration of the existence of god. Anselme du bec after his monastery, was an italian benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the catholic church, who held the office of archbishop of canterbury. He is best known for the celebrated ontological argument for the existence of god in the proslogion, but his contributions to philosophical theology and indeed to philosophy more generally go well beyond the. Perhaps one of the most famous ontological arguments presented was by st. Anselm intended to prove the existence of god, there is disagreement about where the proof is located. Although a version of the ontological argument appears explicitly in the writings of the ancient greek philosopher xenophanes and variations appear in writings by parmenides, plato, and the neoplatonists, the mainstream view is that the ontological argument was first clearly stated and developed by anselm of canterbury.
Saint anselm of canterbury was a benediction abbot, philosopher and theologian. We examine the famous ontological argument in proslogium ii. Scholasticism was the dominant approach to philosophical and theological problems during the medieval 1. This argument for the existence of god has fascinated philosophers ever since anselm first stated it. The ontological argument for gods existence intellectual background neoplatonism plotinus 204270 ce st. Anselm does not just claim that language and experience allow the conclusion that god. Anselm tried to put forward any proofs of the existence of god. The being so conceived must necessarily exist in reality as well as in thought, he argued, since otherwise it would. Ontological arguments about the existence of god, based in premises ostensibly derived. He was recognized in modern times as the originator of the ontological argument for. Ontological argument, argument that proceeds from the idea of god to the reality of god. He was recognized in modern times as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of god based on the idea of. Anselms ontological argument for the existence of god. Alvin plantinga the ontological argument page 115 the ontological argument alvin plantinga 1 the third theistic argument i wish to discuss is the famous ontological argument first formulated by anselm of canterbury in the eleventh century.
In the course of this meditation, the first known formulation of the ontological argument for the existence of god was set out. A with an introduction, bibliography, and reprints of the opinions of leading philosophers and writers on the ontological argument, chicago, the open court publishing company, 1903, reprinted 1. He is most famous for his ontological argument, which is one of the most famous proofs for the existence of god in proslogium, as well as for his argument for satisfaction atonement in cur deus homo trans. Discuss anselms ontological argument for gods existence. This argument was first attempted by anselm of canterbury in the 11th century. Saint anselm of canterbury o ered several arguments for the existence of god. Anselm of canterbury 10331109 saint anselm was one of the most important christian thinkers of the eleventh century. Anselm and of gaunilo, two eleventhcentury thinkers, are both ontological in character. The first, and bestknown, ontological argument was proposed by st. Anselms second version of the ontological argument. This electronic edition features an active table of contents. He is best known for the celebrated ontological argument for the existence of god in the proslogion, but his contributions to philosophical theology and indeed to philosophy more generally go well beyond the ontological argument.
Anselm s reply responsio or apology liber apologeticus does not address this argument directly, which has led klima grzesik33 and others to construct replies for him and led wolterstorff and others to conclude that gaunilos attack is definitive. The ontological argument of gods existence may be traced back to st. Now we believe that you are are something than which nothing greater can be thought. Anselm s argument is a priori, it is independent of experience. Wikipedias reprint from the scholarly 1911 encyclopedia britannica on anselm s life and works anselm, the ontological argument a short selection of anselm s argument from proslogium 2 in the online reading for philosophical inquiry on this site. Critiques of the ontological argument i the ontological argument in this form and in anselm s form is one of the most criticized in the history of philosophy i essentially everyone feels like it is cheating in some way, but people disagree greatly on exactly what is going wrong. One of the most fascinating arguments for the existence of an allperfect god is the ontological argument. Anselm ontological argument san jose state university. Anselms argument is a priori, it is independent of experience. Iris murdoch, spiritual exercises, and anselms proslogion. Subsequently, the role of his passion and his ardent desire. Saint anselm of canterbury 10331109 was a medieval philosopher, theologian, prior of bec, and archbishop of canterbury from 1093 to 1109. It is the argument that, if one understands what is meant by the word god and follows it out to the logical conclusion, it is impossible for such a being not to exist. Anselm of canterbury, proslogion, in anselm of canterbury.
In some passages, acts of sin, insofar as they are real, are said to have god as a cause. Get an answer for what is a summary of anselm and gaunilos argument. Original german text available online, 628 kb pdf file, maintained by. Anselm of canterbury 10331109 the greatest philosopher of the eleventh century, anselm of canterbury was the author of some dozen works whose originality and subtlety earned him the title of father of scholasticism. He set out his famous ontological argument in his proslogion. The first ontological argument in the western christian tradition 1 was proposed by anselm of canterbury in his 1078 work proslogion. Anselm of canterburys ontological argument the postbarthian. Proslogion work by anselm of canterbury britannica. In the writings of anselm, we find what appear to be conflicting accounts of gods relationship to creaturely acts of sin. Complete philosophical and theological treatises of anselm of. Anselmss ontological argument is stated, and a few standard st. Online proslogium by anselm of canterbury ebook pdf download. And cur deus homo, translated from the latin by sidney norton deane, b. Speaks january 6, 2006 1 anselm s presentation of the argument anselm s argument begins with a statement of what god is.
His proslogion address, or allocution, originally titled fides quaerens intellectum faith seeking understanding, established the ontological argument for the existence of god. Pope portal vatican city portal catholicism portal. Many recent authors have interpreted this argument as a modal one. While there are several different versions of the argument, all purport to show that it is selfcontradictory to deny that there exists a greatest possible being. Personally, i believe that the argument can be saved from the objections, and will aim to prove this by presenting and analysing the refutations alongside anselms argument. Anselm s reasoning was that, if a being existed only in the mind but not in reality, then a greater being was conceivable a being which exists both in the mind and in reality. Anselm stresses the importance of our rational nature as humans, encouraging christians that they should be always ready to convince anyone who demands of them a reason of that hope which is in us. Anselm s proof, known since the time of kant as the ontological argument for the existence of god, has played an important role in the history of philosophy and has been incorporated in various forms into the systems of descartes, leibniz, hegel, and others. One of the first to formulate the ontological argument was st. Anselm claims to derive the existence of god from the concept of a being than which no greater can be conceived. Then, anselms ontological argument in its basic form will be examined as an example of the use of reason in seeking understanding.
More specifically, ontological arguments tend to start with a priori theory about the organization of the universe. The first ontological argument in the western christian tradition was proposed by anselm of canterbury in his 1078 work proslogion. Anselms argument together with gaunilos, aquinas and kants objections are conveniently summarized by kenneth einar himma in the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Anselm, archbishop of cantebury 10331109, is the originator of the ontological argument, which he describes in the proslogium as follows. Augustine 353430 ce collapse of the western roman empire 476 ce the ontological argument anselm s definition. Ontological argument for the gods existence internet.
The father of ontological arguments is often considered to be anselm of canterbury who was a monk and abbot of bec in normandy, and archbishop of canterbury from 1093 to 1109. I the other a priori argument due originally to anselm is the ontological argument i the ontological argument comes in various forms, but the common element is that it asserts that gods existence can be proven simply from the concept of god. Pdf this paper presents the special issue on formal approaches to the. Anselm of canterbury on faith and reason, anselm studies 2 1998. An ontological argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god that uses ontology. Jul 15, 2019 anselm starts with premises that do not. Anselms reasoning was that, if a being existed only in the mind but not in reality, then a greater being was conceivable a being which exists both in the mind and in reality. Anselm 10331109 was archbishop of canterbury and wrote many influential works, including his proslogium, monologium and cur deus homo. Anselm s argument in proslogion 2 was a reflection or prayer rather than a formal piece of.
Anselm of canterbury, who defined god as the greatest conceivable being. The ontological argument is widely thought to have been first clearly articulated by st. Ontological arguments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. At bec, anselm made his first great intellectual contribution.
Speaks january 6, 2006 1 anselms presentation of the argument anselms argument begins with a statement of what god is. He gave the ontological argument for the existence of god and is known for his satisfaction theory of atonement. Most famously, in the proslogion addition, anselm proposed the famous ontological argument, according to which god is understood as aliquid quod maius non cogitari potest that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Anselm s ontological argument for the existence of god anselm s argument is an a priori argument. Saint anselm of canterbury, italianborn theologian and philosopher, known as the father of scholasticism, a philosophical school of thought that dominated the middle ages. Anselm defined god as a being than which no greater can be conceived, and which exists, and argued that this being must exist in the mind. Anselm, the archbishop of canterbury, who lived in the late eleventh century. He is most famous in philosophy for having discovered and articulated the socalled ontological argument. But, anselm notes, this fool must surely at least be able to understand. Saint anselm of canterbury archbishop and philosopher. During his years in the abbey he wrote the two works for which he is best known, the monologium and the proslogium. The origins of the ontological argument are usually seen in the writings of st anselm of canterbury. This volume includes the proslogion, gaunilos reply to the ontological argument, and anselm s reply to gaunilos reply.
There is an enormous literature on the material in proslogion iiiii. Personally, i believe that the argument can be saved from the objections, and will aim to prove this by presenting and analysing the refutations alongside anselm s argument. Born into an italian noble family, he is also called anselm of aosta after his birthplace aosta and anselm of bec after his abbey in bec valley. Anselm is often con sidered to be the father of scholastic philosophy since his work empha sizes linguistic and analytical thinking. Gaunilo, a monk and contemporary of anselm, thought the argument could prove that the mythical lost island of oceanea surpassing all others in natural riches must exist. On the logic of the ontological argument stanford university. Anselm of canterbury was a neoplatonic realist and was. Anselm presents the ontological argument, an argument for the existence of god in which god is defined as, a being than.
Anselme du bec after his monastery, was an italian benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the catholic church, who held the office of archbishop of canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Anselm s name will forever be associated with the ontological argument for. Anselm presents a philosophical argument for the existence of god. Iris murdoch, spiritual exercises, and anselm s proslogion and prayers thomas s. Anselm 10331109 of canterbury was born in aosta, italy.
God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived or, the. This online translation of the proslogion is taken from a new, interpretive translation of st. Anselm canterbury cathedral, norman staircase, library of congress, detroit publishing topics worth investigating 1. Complete philosophical and theological treatises of anselm of canterbury translated by jasper hopkins and herbert richardson.
St anselm of canterbury benedictine monk 10331109 ontological arguments the term is kants appear in his work. Anselm defined god as a being than which no greater can be conceived, and which exists 2, and argued that this being must exist in the mind, even in the mind of the person who denies the existence of god. The form of the argument is that of a reductio ad absurdum argument. Proslogion, with the replies of gaunilo and anselm pdf. The latin text, collated by hopkins and published in the foregoing work, is not here reprinted. Best known in the modern era for his ontological argument, designed to prove gods existence.
Anselm is known by the motto faith seeking understanding. Many arguments fall under the category of the ontological, and they tend to involve arguments about the state of being or existing. Ontological argument the ontological argument is widely thought to have been first clearly articulated by st. Saint anselm of canterbury offered several arguments for the existence of god. Anselm 10331109 who was an archbishop of canterbury and abbot of bec. Saint anselm of canterbury 10331109 was the outstanding christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century. Anselm of canterbury biography facts, childhood, family. Ian logan reading the proslogion1 saint anselm college.
The very concept of truth demands existence just as plainly as the very concept of a triangle demands three sides. The ontological argument insists that gods existence is necessary in this same way. Anselmo daosta after his birthplace and anselm of bec french. Anselm began with the concept of god as that than which nothing greater can be. A 10 minute video microlesson that takes a quick look at anselm of canterbury s cunning and controversial argument for the existence of god. Even a fool, when he hears of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived understands what he hears, and what he understands is in his understanding. This entry is a good place to start for clarification of the above notes to the argument. Ontological arguments are arguments, for the conclusion that god exists.
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