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Anselm of Canterbury
1033–1109· Philosopher· Reality, mind & God
Well documentedSolid records, texts or physical evidence.
Italian-born monk and Archbishop of Canterbury who tried to prove God's existence by reason alone.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
Idea: 'faith seeking understanding' (fides quaerens intellectum): believe first, then use reason to grasp what you believe. Born in Aosta, Italy, Anselm became abbot of Bec in Normandy and, in 1093, Archbishop of Canterbury, clashing with English kings over church rights and twice going into exile. He wrote the Monologion and Proslogion (1076–78), the latter containing the ontological argument, and Why God Became Man (1098), which explains the cross as repayment of a debt of honor owed to God.
Why it matters
He brought rigorous logic into theology, earning the title 'father of Scholasticism', and his ontological argument is still debated nearly a thousand years later.
Legacy and sources
His treatises and letters survive; his secretary Eadmer wrote both his biography and a history of his disputes with the kings.
Still debated
Whether he meant his proof to persuade unbelievers or to deepen believers' understanding is still debated.
Inside this (1)
Connections (2)
▸Anselm of Canterbury devised Anselm's ontological argumentWell documented
The connection
Anselm said he wanted one short argument that would prove God exists without help from other arguments. After long frustration, it came to him during night prayers: the definition of God as 'that than which nothing greater can be conceived' itself implies God exists.
When and how
Abbey of Bec, Normandy, 1077–78, in the Proslogion ('Address').
How we know
The Proslogion's preface describes the search, and his biographer Eadmer recounts the night the idea came.
Debates and open questions
Whether chapter 3's version, that God cannot even be conceived not to exist, is a separate and stronger argument is debated.
▸Anselm of Canterbury is often called the father of Scholasticism and the recovery of AristotleMostly agreed
The connection
Anselm's motto, 'faith seeking understanding', set the scholastic program: start from belief, then use strict reasoning to understand it. In the Monologion and Proslogion he tried to prove truths about God by reason alone, without quoting scripture, a model that later university theologians developed.
When and how
Bec Abbey, Normandy, 1070s–1090s, before he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093.
How sure are we?
His works survive, including the 'faith seeking understanding' phrase in the Proslogion (1077–1078); later scholastics debated his arguments, though 'father of Scholasticism' is a modern label.
Debates and open questions
Some historians give the title to Peter Abelard, whose Yes and No (Sic et Non) shaped the scholastic method of weighing conflicting authorities.