St. Anselm Basic Writings: Proslogium, Mologium, Gaunilo's In Behalf of the Fool, Cur Deus Homo (Paperback)

by Saint Anselm of Canterbury (Author), S. N. Deane (Translator), Charles Hartshorne (Introduction) "proachable light. But where is unapproachable light, or how shall I come to it?..." (more)
Key Phrases: divine nonexistence, greater cannot, supreme nature, Son of God, Holy Spirit, God the Father (more...)

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Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) was one of the originators of medievil scholastic philosophy. This collection of his best-known philosophical works contains, among other things, the Proslogium, in which Anselm first put forward the famous ontological argument for the existence of God. Also included are Gaunilo of Maurmoutier's criticism of Anselm's argument and Anselm's reply to Gaunilo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Open Court; 2 edition (December 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875481094
• ISBN-13: 978-0875481098
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Great Defintion for the Existence of God", January 29, 2001

By	Johannes Platonicus (South Bend, Indiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, philosopher, father of scholastism, and doctor of the highly-esteemed Ontological Argument has in this work (Proslogium, Monologium, Cur Deus Homo, and Reply to Gaunilo)decribed and defended the nature of the most Trascendent Being in a profound yet simplistic manner.

He begins his treatise stating that "God is greater than that of which can be conceived." While at the same time he emphasizes that we must not be intimidated by God's incomprehensiblity, but rather that we are reconciled to the Divine Knowledge by a means of simply believing in Him. Anselm quotes from (Psalms 14:1) which says that "the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God". So to Anselm the one who does not believe is the one who will never gain understanding, and to the believer, he says that, "they set straight the path to all wisdom and understanding." Thus, an incomprehensible Being, reveals what he wills to the ones who seek Him diligently. This is the scope of his work in rudiments, but Anselm expounds with clarity on each and every subject at hand that he works with. So as the reader you never feel that you are getting to little, or to much information. Also you will invariably receive new insights (which is the bread and butter of the Ontological Argument)no matter how well read and learned you are on the subject.

The introduction to this book proves itself to be invaluable by summarizing the basic philosophy of Anselm. It also contains refutations and defenses to the Ontological Argument by some of the most reknowed philosophers of all time such as Kant, Hegel, Locke, Spinoza, and Descartes', to name a few. This way you can gain a better perspective of the way you will deal with the subject matter will reading. Despite reading a few of these counter-arguments I found that none of them could add to, or take away from the sheer purity of Anslem's argument.

Deemed as the second Augustine , Anselm kept an extreme adherrence to the Holy Sriptures, the edicts promulgated by the Nicene Fathers, and an emphasis rooted deeply in the power of pure reason, which rightly has acredited him such an honorable title.

So I would strongly suggest purchasing this book. It has been a rewarding and valuable asset to have on my shelf and I hope it makes its way to yours.