Anselm's Other Argument / A. D. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, A. D., author.

Series:

Theory of Knowledge

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anselm, Saint, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1033-1109.

God--Proof, Ontological--Early works to 1800.

Ontology.

Modality (Theory of knowledge).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109 CE), in his work Proslogion, originated the "ontological argument" for God's existence, famously arguing that "something than which nothing greater can be conceived," which he identifies with God, must actually exist, for otherwise something greater could indeed be conceived. Some commentators have claimed that although Anselm may not have been conscious of the fact, the Proslogion as well as his Reply to Gaunilo contains passages that constitute a second independent proof: a "modal ontological argument" that concerns the supposed logical necessity of God's existence. Other commentators disagree, countering that the alleged second argument does not stand on its own but presupposes the conclusion of the first. Anselm's Other Argument stakes an original claim in this debate, and takes it further. There is a second a priori argument in Anselm (specifically in the Reply), A. D. Smith contends, but it is not the modal argument past scholars have identified. This second argument surfaces in a number of forms, though always turning on certain deep, interrelated metaphysical issues. It is this form of argument that in fact underlies several of the passages which have been misconstrued as statements of the modal argument. In a book that combines historical research with rigorous philosophical analysis, Smith discusses this argument in detail, finally defending a modification of it that is implicit in Anselm. This "other argument" bears a striking resemblance to one that Duns Scotus would later employ.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ABBREVIATIONS OF ANSELM'S WORKS

INTRODUCTION

1 THE MODAL ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

2 ANSELM'S UNDERSTANDING OF CONCEIVABILITY

3 ANSELM'S UNDERSTANDING OF POSSIBILITY

4 THE PROSLOGION III ARGUMENT

5 ARGUMENTS IN THE REPLY TO GAUNILO

6 ANSELM'S OTHER ARGUMENT

7 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ARGUMENT

APPENDICES

NOTES

REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9780674726857

0674726855

9780674726000

0674726006

OCLC:

880147748