St. Anselm Of Canterbury - 2376 Words

For centuries, philosophers have been concerned with proving the existence of god, and from this has sprouted many arguments attempting to prove or disprove god’s existence from a wide variety of different perspectives. St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury has proved a true pioneer in the study of the philosophy of religion. Anselm provided one of the most crucial and influential solutions to solving the mystery of god’s existence, the Ontological Argument. While there were many different arguments (along with their originators) discussed during the religion presentation, it will be Anselm’s that we focus on. While Anselm’s ontological argument is seen as one of the most influential arguments created about god’s existence, it is not†¦show more content†¦4. Thus, if God exists only as an idea in the mind, then we can imagine something that is greater than God (that is, a greatest possible being that does exist). 5. But we cannot imagine something that is greater than God (for it is a contradiction to suppose that we can imagine a being greater than the greatest possible being that can be imagined.) 6. Therefore, God exists. The ontological argument described by Anselm is a purely logical argument. It sets out to prove the definition of god by using just logic and abstract reasoning to plead its case. Essentially Anselm’s argument is the same type of argument as saying 2+2=4. It relies not on experimentation or observation to reach its conclusion. The main strength in Anselm’s argument is that he demonstrates that the concept of god is not illogical. He shows that even the most non-believers have some concept of what god is in their mind – an all mighty being, the most powerful being, etc. Anselm’s definition of what god is, â€Å"†¦a being than which nothing greater can be conceived†, further strengthens his argument because it suggests that the idea of a perfect being implies all aspects of perfection. Existence is seen as an element of perfection. It is also agreed by many that it is more perfect to exist than not to. Therefore, god must exist. Anselm elaborates on this logical conclusion by stating that â€Å"†¦than which nothing greater can be conceived, cannot exist in the