**Anselm’s Proslogion: The Ontological Argument and the Journey of Reason Toward God**

I. Introduction – Faith Seeking Understanding

St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109), a pivotal figure of 11th-century scholastic theology and Archbishop of Canterbury, presents in his Proslogion an unprecedented philosophical endeavor: the formulation of the ontological argument for the existence of God. In this work, Anselm seeks to demonstrate the existence and attributes of God through a single, logically self-evident argument grounded in reason.

But the Proslogion is more than a treatise; it is a meditative, prayerful reflection, combining theology, metaphysics, and spiritual devotion. Its core motto, “Credo ut intelligam” (“I believe so that I may understand”), exemplifies the scholastic synthesis of faith and reason.

II. From Monologion to Proslogion: Purpose and Form

Anselm had previously written the Monologion, a lengthy meditation deriving God’s existence from the order and hierarchy of being. Yet he desired a more concise and unified argument. The Proslogion was born of this desire for a single proof, founded on pure reason.

The work unfolds as a prayer and meditation in the first person—a philosophical ascent of the soul. It is not merely speculative theology, but a rational worship of God, offered in the form of a spiritual dialogue.

III. The Ontological Argument – Core Structure

The ontological argument appears most clearly in chapter 2 of the Proslogion. Its structure can be outlined as follows:

God is defined as “that than which nothing greater can be conceived” (aliquid quo nihil maius cogitari possit).
This being exists at least in the understanding.
But a being that exists both in the understanding and in reality is greater than one that exists in the understanding alone.
Therefore, God must exist in reality, not merely as a concept.

This elegant argument has fueled debate for centuries. Anselm contends that existence is a perfection, and that a truly greatest being must possess existence. If the concept of God is properly understood, then non-existence becomes logically impossible for such a being.

IV. Divine Attributes: Self-Existence, Omnipotence, Goodness, Eternity

Anselm expands upon the implications of this concept of God throughout the Proslogion. From the definition of God as the greatest conceivable being, he deduces several divine attributes:

Aseity (Self-existence): God depends on nothing outside Himself.
Immutability: God is unchanging and perfect.
Goodness: God is the highest good, the source of all goodness.
Eternity: God exists beyond and above time.

These attributes follow from Anselm’s Platonic-Augustinian metaphysical framework, in which God is the fullness of being—pure actuality and the necessary foundation of all that exists.

V. Criticism and Reinterpretation: Gaunilo, Kant, and Contemporary Thinkers

The ontological argument received its earliest critique from Gaunilo, a monk and contemporary of Anselm. In his “Reply on Behalf of the Fool,” Gaunilo proposed a parody: imagining a perfect island does not make it real. Anselm responded that God, unlike an island, is a unique, necessary being—not a contingent or finite object.

In the modern period, Immanuel Kant famously argued that existence is not a predicate—that is, not a property that can be added to a concept to make it more perfect. Thus, he rejected the ontological argument as logically invalid.

However, contemporary philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga and Norman Malcolm have defended reformulations of the argument using modal logic and the notion of necessary existence, restoring its relevance in analytic philosophy of religion.

VI. The Contemporary Significance of Proslogion

The Proslogion is not merely an attempt to prove God’s existence. Rather, it is a spiritual exercise of seeking God through reason, grounded in faith. Anselm does not aim to “discover” God as an external hypothesis, but to encounter God within the depths of human rational reflection.

“I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but I believe so that I may understand.”
— Proslogion, Chapter 1

The work bridges prayer and logic, contemplation and dialectic, devotion and metaphysics. It is a hallmark of scholastic theology and a foundational text in the Western tradition of philosophical theology.

VII. Conclusion – Reason’s Ascent to God

Born from monastic silence and theological yearning, Anselm’s Proslogion remains a powerful witness to reason’s capacity to approach the divine. Though the ontological argument is not without controversy, its enduring legacy lies in its bold assertion that the human mind, guided by faith, can rise toward eternal truth.

Through the fusion of logic and love, Anselm’s work invites us not only to think about God but to encounter God through the very act of thinking.

“You are not only that than which nothing greater can be thought, but You are greater than can be thought.”
— Proslogion, Chapter 15

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