Anselm's Ontological Argument

Anselm's ontological argument is a priori proof of God's existence. Anselm begins his

argument with ideas that do not depend on experience and progress to a throughly logical

explanation that God necessarily exists. Anselm's goal is to prove to the "fool" that God has to

exist. He says that anyone who has an understanding of the existence of God can and logically

has to believe that God really does exist.

Anselm starts off with a statement that is slightly simple and straight forward; God is that

thing which nothing greater can be conceived. Even to an atheist this idea is clear. Anyone, even

if they do not believe this statement, has it in their understanding that if their was a God, it

would be that thing which nothing greater can be conceived. The created cannot be greater than

the creator because the idea of the created was created by the creator and only by the creator. So

if one thinks about the possibility of a thing which nothing greater can be conceived and thinks it

possible, than that idea is in their understanding. Anselm says that it exists only in the

understanding or it exists there and in reality. That means that since everyone can conceive of the

idea of a thing which nothing greater can be conceived, than the only other group, is of people

who believe it to be true.

Suppose then, that it exists just in the understanding, then one can really conceive of it

actually existing. As Anselm

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