Proslogion

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Proslogion

work by Anselm of Canterbury

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July 13, 2026

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The Proslogion is a significant work by St. Anselm of Canterbury, written between 1077 and 1078. In it, Anselm presents his famous ontological argument for the existence of God. He begins with the concept of God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." Anselm argues that if such a being exists only in the mind, then a greater being could be conceived—one that also exists in reality. This leads to a contradiction, as the greatest conceivable being must possess real existence. Therefore, God, as the greatest conceivable being, must exist. This argument has been a subject of extensive philosophical debate throughout history.12

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St. Anselm of Canterbury
Early life and career
His Proslogion (“Address” or “Allocution”), originally titled Fides quaerens intellectum (“Faith Seeking Understanding”), established the ontological argument for the existence of God. In it he claimed that even a fool has an idea of a being greater than which no other being can be conceived to…
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His Proslogion (“Address” or “Allocution”), originally titled Fides quaerens intellectum (“Faith Seeking Understanding”), established the ontological argument for the existence of God. In it he claimed that even a fool has an idea of a being greater than which no other being can be conceived to…
Read More

Western philosophy
Anselm
Anselm’s later work, the Proslogion (1077/78; “Allocution” or “Address”), contains his most famous proof of the existence of God. This begins with a datum of faith: humans believe God to be the being than which none greater can be conceived. Some, like the fool in the Psalms, say there…
Read More
Anselm’s later work, the Proslogion (1077/78; “Allocution” or “Address”), contains his most famous proof of the existence of God. This begins with a datum of faith: humans believe God to be the being than which none greater can be conceived. Some, like the fool in the Psalms, say there…
Read More

$optical illusion: refraction of light$
epistemology
St. Anselm of Canterbury
…at the beginning of his Proslogion (1077–78), however, there is a tension between the view that God is truth and intelligibility and the fact that humans have no perception of God. How can there be knowledge of God, he asks, when all knowledge comes through the senses and God, being…
Read More
…at the beginning of his Proslogion (1077–78), however, there is a tension between the view that God is truth and intelligibility and the fact that humans have no perception of God. How can there be knowledge of God, he asks, when all knowledge comes through the senses and God, being…
Read More

medieval philosophy
St. Anselm
Anselm’s later work, the Proslogion (1077/78; “Address” or “Allocution”), contains his most famous proof of the existence of God. It begins with a datum of faith: humans believe God to be the being than which none greater can be conceived. Some say there is no God, but even a…
Read More
Anselm’s later work, the Proslogion (1077/78; “Address” or “Allocution”), contains his most famous proof of the existence of God. It begins with a datum of faith: humans believe God to be the being than which none greater can be conceived. Some say there is no God, but even a…
Read More