Anselm of Canterbury: biography of this philosopher and theologian.

A summary of the life of St. Anselm of Canterbury and his philosophical ideas.

The Middle Ages was not as dark a time as many believe, the living proof of this being the fact that many great thinkers of Western history can be placed in this period.

Among the greatest medieval philosophers is the figure of St. Anselm of Canterbury, theologian and scholastic philosopher known for having raised what centuries later would be called the ontological argument.

The following is a summary of the life of this thinker through a biography of St. Anselm. a biography of Saint AnselmWe will also delve into his particular way of defending the existence of God.

Brief biography of Anselm of Canterbury.

St. Anselm of Canterbury, also known as Anselm of Aosta after his birthplace, and Anselm of Bec after the monastery where he became prior, was a monk of the Order of St. Benedict, a doctor of the Church, theologian and scholastic philosopher known for having served as Archbishop of Canterbury during the period from 1093 to 1109, a rather turbulent time in the Church.a rather turbulent time in the history of England.

We know the life of this thinker thanks to the work of Eadmero, one of his direct disciples. While it is logical to think that his pupil describes the life of his master with exaggerations and various interpretations, all with the clear intention of exalting a candidate for sainthood, it is believed to be a reliable portrait of what Anselm of Canterbury must have been like, a great defender of the Immaculate Conception of Mary as well as being considered the father of scholasticism and being known for his ontological argument.

Early years and youth

Saint Anselmo was born one day in the year 1033 in Aosta, then Lombardy, which is why in Italy he is better known as Saint Anselmo d'Aosta.He was born in 1033 in Aosta, which is why in Italy he is better known as Saint Anselmo d'Aosta. His family was of noble Piedmontese lineage, being the son of Gondulfo, a Lombard nobleman, and Ermenberga, related to Otto I of Savoy.

As with many of the biographies of medieval saints, it is said that St. Anselm's parents were two antagonistic figures. His father was prodigal and dissipated, while his mother was deeply religious. Whether this is true or not, it is fair to say that this would not be an exceptional case, considering that such behavior was common among medieval men and women.

The saint's early childhood was completely normal, although from an early age he showed religious concerns. religious concerns, strengthened by the constant contact with the saint'sThe saint's early childhood was quite normal, although he showed religious concerns from an early age, strengthened by the constant contact with his mother, who would have brought him closer to her values and religious practices. Likewise, it was not uncommon for the sons of nobles to become interested in the monastic life in order to give renown to their family.

This religious interest grew stronger and stronger and, at the age of fifteen, the saint asked to enter the Benedictine monasticism. Although in his adolescent years he is described as a pious and studious person, it seems that at the end of this same stage of youth there were several conflicts with his father, which is why he would end up leaving home.

Entry into religious life

After that he would carry out several preliminary studies on rhetoric and Latin in Burgundy, Avranches and finally Bec, a place where he had been attracted by the fame of Lanfranco and the Benedictine Order. This is somewhat ironic, since despite entering at the age of 27 in 1060, he was initially reluctant given the renown of this monk, whom Anselm considered rather an obstacle to his ecclesiastical career.

It was during his stay in the monastery of Bec that he composed two of his best known works: "The Monologion" and the "Proslogion".. The Monologion consists of a theological-philosophical meditation on the reasons of faith, where he presents his proofs of the existence of God following the Augustinian tradition. In the Proslogion he exposes what has been called the ontological argument, constituting one of the most original contributions of St. Anselm to medieval philosophy.

Transfer to Canterbury and last years

In 1063 he succeeded his mentor Lanfranco in the priory of Bec becoming its new abbot, although this would not be the last place where he would exercise this position. Several years later, in 1078, he would go to England, specifically to the city of Canterbury where he would be elected as abbot in 1078 and, later, in 1093 he would become the archbishop of the same abbey, although he was reluctant to be chosen for the position.

St. Anselm's fame is due mainly to his stay in England, which is why he is known worldwide as St. Anselm of Canterbury. It is in Great Britain that the saint proved to be, in addition to being a prolific philosopher and theologian, also a political apologist, defending the creed in the face of the British and French authorities.defending the creed against the potential religious schisms that were emerging in England at the end of the eleventh century.

Taking advantage of his position as archbishop, he confronted on more than one occasion the English monarchs William II and his successor Henry I, who opposed him on many occasions, wanting to reduce the influence of the Church in Great Britain. the influence of the Church in Great Britain. These conflicts caused St. Anselm to leave Canterbury on more than one occasion, but this did not prevent him from serving as archbishop of the city until his death in 1109 at the age of 76.

The philosophy of St. Anselm

Saint Anselm of Canterbury is considered one of the most relevant philosophers of the Augustinian tradition and, as theologian that he was, his philosophy shows his religious and spiritual concerns. In fact, his philosophical work is focused on understanding faith, using it as an argument to justify the existence of God, on the assumption that there was only one truth that was revealed by God and that is the object of faith.

Reason, explains Anselm of Canterbury, can add understanding to faith and thus reinforce it, but reasoning alone has neither autonomy nor the capacity to reach the truth by itself, although it is useful to clarify belief.Although it is useful for clarifying belief, an attitude that can be summed up in the expression "credo, ut intelligam". Reason is placed in strict dependence on faith.

It is not possible to comment on Anselm's philosophy without mentioning the Monologion, being the work in which St. Anselm exposes several arguments in which he tries to demonstrate the existence of God, accompanied by reflections of theological character. This text was of great interest among his fellow Benedictines, who asked him to gather in a single argument the probative force that the arguments presented in the Monologion offered as a whole and, in response to this, St. Anselm wrote the Proslogion.

It is in this second work that St. Anselm sets forth the ontological argumentthat is, an a priori deductive argument in favor of the existence of God. This argument, presented in chapter II of the Proslogion, was not only intended to satisfy the request that his fellow Benedictines had made, but also to provide the believer with a solid logical reason that would undoubtedly confirm his faith.

We owe the name ontological argument to Immanuel Kant, who baptized it as such when he delved into the life and work of Anselm. St. Anselm presents this argument in the form of a prayer, although its logical structure can be described in the following points:

(a) We conceive of God as that greater and better than which nothing can be thought, an idea of God that everyone understands.

b) But that which is greater and better than which nothing can be thought of must exist outside our mind, since we attribute perfection to it (better than all things) and therefore it must exist by necessity, since existence is a quality of perfection.

c) This perfect being would be more real than anything that could be thought of by the mere fact of existing. Consequently, God must exist not only in the mind in the form of an idea, but also extramentaly as part of reality.

St. Anselm points out that the definition of God can be understood and accepted by anyone. He focuses his analysis on that same idea and its implications, indicating that it is absurd to mentally conceive of a perfect being and deny him the greatest perfection: existence. Thus, he concludes by affirming the necessary existence of God as a requirement of reason to avoid arriving at such an absurdity.

Because the ontological argument is one of the most interesting arguments in the history of philosophy, it has also been one of the most controversial. There have been philosophers who have considered it as valid, among them René Descartes and Friedrich Hegel, introducing it in their philosophical systems. Others, on the other hand, reject it, as is the case of St. Thomas, David Hume or Kant himself, denying its probative force.