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Anselm of Canterbury

Disciplines:
philosophy
theology
logic

Summary

Italian-born Archbishop of Canterbury who developed the ontological argument for God's existence and a satisfaction theory of atonement, pursuing faith seeking understanding (fides quaerens intellectum).

Core Contribution

The ontological argument (Proslogion): God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived; if God existed only in the mind, something greater (existing in reality too) could be conceived; therefore God exists in reality. Cur Deus Homo: the Incarnation is rationally necessary — human sin required a satisfaction only an infinite being could provide.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • The ontological argument was rejected by Aquinas, demolished by Kant, revived by Descartes and Leibniz, and still generates original philosophical work — the most durable argument in Western philosophy.
  • Argued for faith seeking understanding — not fideism, not rationalism, but the use of reason to understand what is already believed through faith.
  • Was exiled from England twice by English kings for defending church independence from royal control — combining philosophical rigor with political courage.

Notable Works & Achievements

Proslogion

Monologion

Cur Deus Homo

De Veritate

Historical Influences

Augustine of Hippo Plato Boethius

Intellectual Lineage

Augustinian Theology Platonic Tradition Scholasticism

Contemporaries & Peers

Peter Abelard William of Champeaux

Minds Influenced

Thomas Aquinas Duns Scotus Descartes Leibniz Alvin Plantinga

Intellectual Posterity

Ontological ArgumentScholasticism Satisfaction Theory of Atonement

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