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Why did St. Anselm of Canterbury argue that God cannot exist only in the mind?
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St. Anselm of Canterbury
St. Anselm of Canterbury (center), terra-cotta altarpiece by Luca della Robbia; in the Museo Diocesano, Empoli, Italy.
St. Anselm of Canterbury argued that God cannot exist only in the mind because of the definition of God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" (aliquid quo nihil majus cogitari possit).123
In his work the Proslogion, Anselm reasoned that if this being existed only in the intellect, it would involve a logical contradiction. His argument follows these steps:124
- It is greater to exist in reality as well as in the understanding than to exist in the understanding alone.24
- If God existed only in the mind, one could conceive of a greater being—one that exists both in reality and in the understanding.24
- Therefore, to maintain the definition of God as the greatest conceivable being, God must necessarily exist in reality.13
This line of reasoning is known as the ontological argument, which attempts to demonstrate the reality of God directly from the concept of an absolutely perfect being.153