Showing posts with label Anselm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anselm. Show all posts

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Anselm's Ontological Argument - A Scholastic Thomist's Critique


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From St. Anselm of Canterbury (AD 1033-1109), Proslogion 2:

Therefore, Lord, who grant understanding to faith, grant me that, in so far as you know it beneficial, I understand that you are as we believe and you are that which we believe. Now we believe that you are something than which nothing greater can be conceived.  Then is there no such nature, since the fool has said in his heart: God is not? But certainly this same fool, when he hears this very thing that I am saying - something than which nothing greater can be conceived - understands what he hears; and what he understands is in his understanding, even if he does not understand that it is. For it is one thing for a thing to be in the understanding and another to understand that a thing is.  For when a painter conceived beforehand what he is going to make, he has in his understanding what he has not yet made but he does not yet understand that it is. But when he has already painted it, he both has in his understanding what he has already painted and understands that it is.
Therefore even the fool is bound to agree that there is at least in the understanding something than which nothing greater can be conceived, because when he hears this he understands it, and whatever is understood is in the understanding.  And certainly that than which a greater cannot be conceived cannot be in the understanding alone. For if it is at least in the understanding alone, it can be conceived to be in reality too, which is greater. Therefore if that than which a greater cannot be conceived is in the understanding alone, that very thing than which a greater cannot be conceived is something than which a greater can be conceived.  But certainly this cannot be. There exists, therefore, beyond doubt something than which a greater cannot be conceived, both in the understanding and in reality.



Anselm's Ontological Argument in Syllogistic Format:

P1: God is that nothing greater than which can be conceived (NGC).
P2: NGC exists either (a) only in the mind, or (b) both in the mind and in reality.
P3: NGC cannot exist (a) only in the mind.
C: Therefore, NGC exists (b) both in the mind and in reality.


Defense of P3: If NGC existed (a) only in the mind, then NGC would not be an NGC.  But that would be contradictory.  Therefore, NGC does not exist (a) only in the mind, but (b) both in the mind and reality. 

P1: G is NGC
P2: NGC is (R V M)
P3: ~ M
C: Therefore, R




From St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae I.2.1:

Article 1. Whether the existence of God is per se known?
Objection 2. Further, those things are said to be per se known which are known as soon as the terms are known, which the Philosopher (Posterior Analytics I.3) says is true of the first principles of demonstration. Thus, when the nature of a whole and of a part is known, it is at once recognized that every whole is greater than its part. But as soon as the signification of the word "God" is understood, it is at once seen that God exists. For by this word is signified that thing than which nothing greater can be conceived. But that which exists actually and mentally is greater than that which exists only mentally. Therefore, since as soon as the word "God" is understood, it exists mentally, it also follows that it exists actually. Therefore the proposition "God exists" is per se known.
Reply to Objection 2. Perhaps not everyone who hears this word "God" understands it to signify something than which nothing greater can be thought, seeing that some have believed God to be a body. Yet, granted that everyone understands that by this word "God" is signified something than which nothing greater can be thought, nevertheless, it does not therefore follow that he understands that what the word signifies exists actually, but only that it exists mentally. Nor can it be argued that it actually exists, unless it be admitted that there actually exists something than which nothing greater can be thought; and this precisely is not admitted by those who hold that God does not exist.


Aquinas' Critique, as it Corresponds to the Syllogism Above:

P1 is unfounded: "Perhaps not everyone who hears this word "God" understands it to signify something than which nothing greater can be thought, seeing that some have believed God to be a body." 

The argument is invalid.  The argument  commits the fallacy of equivocation due to multiple suppositions of the term "God."  In the premises, the terms "God" and NGC are taken with material supposition: the premises speak of the concepts "God" and NGC.  But in the conclusion, the term "God" is taken with formal supposition: that is, the conclusion speaks, not of the concept "God," but of the real entity God.   The argument, thus, makes an invalid inference from the concept "God" (which we create in our minds) to the reality God (Who created our minds).  From the concept of an NGT one can only infer that such a concept includes the concept "existence" as part of its comprehension, much in the same way that, from the concept "perfect tropical island" we can infer that such a concept includes the concept "existence" as part of its comprehension.  But none of this allows us to ascribe any real, extramental existence, whether to God or to a perfect tropical island.  In Aquinas' own words, from the premises given, "it does not follow that [he who thinks of an NGT] understands that what the word signifies exists actually, but only that it exists mentally."


Note: the only way one could infer God's real existence from such an argument is by supplying a premise that states that an NGT really exists. If an NGT really exists, then it would follow that it has necessary existence: it would exist by definition.  But that premise would turn the whole argument in to a petitio principii (i.e., the fallacy of circular reasoning, or 'begging the question').  In Aquinas' words, "nor can it be argued that it actually exists, unless it be admitted that there actually exists something than which nothing greater can be thought; and this precisely is not admitted by those who hold that God does not exist."

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

St. Anselm, "The Father of Scholasticism"


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From D.J. Kennedy, O.P. - St. Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy, Chapter I: "The Rise of Scholasticism - St. Anselm (1034-1109)."

(Online source: University of Notre Dame's The Jacques Maritain Center)

SCHOLASTICISM. -- The study of Scholastic philosophy and the use of philosophical knowledge in explaining and defending the truths of faith are distinguishing features of the Middle Ages. So well did the philosophers and theologians of those times understand the true relations of faith and reason that their principles were solemnly adopted and proclaimed in our own times, viz., the Vatican Council. Rome was not built in a day; the philosophical systems of the schoolmen were not built in a day. There were years of investigation, doubt and dispute before their systems were formulated. We can trace the rise and progress and the perfection of Scholasticism. We begin the study of the subject by considering all that is brought to mind by the name of St. Anselm, who is usually styled the "Father of Scholasticism" in the Western Church.

What Scholasticism is not. -- Scholasticism has been misunderstood and misrepresented more than any other feature of life in the Middle Ages. To this very day there are many for whom the word is synonymous with subtlety and logic-chopping. That there have been abuses of Scholasticism, and that these abuses furnished pretexts for rejecting the system, is freely admitted. The existence and causes of those abuses will be considered in subsequent chapter. Nevertheless, here, as elsewhere, we should apply the principle that what is good should not be condemned or rejected because it has been abused.

He is a poor student of history and philosophy who thinks that subtlety is the quintessence, or even a necessary element or property, of Scholastic philosophy. Many of its terms are not readily understood by the ordinary student and they cannot lay claim to elegance in latinity. But, is it not true that medicine, jurisprudence, chemistry, botany, biology, and other sciences employ technical terms that are not understood by the uninitiated? We do not on that account reject those sciences. Why should we apply a different rule to Scholastic philosophy, especially since we are not prepared to offer a suitable substitute for the teaching and terminology of the Schoolmen? Correct the abuses; suppress idle discussions; banish confusing subtleties; but retain what is good in Scholasticism, for it is of great value. Scholasticism, in the first place, represents the highest form of intellectual activity and intellectual perfection; in the second place, for those who are Christians, it is of the utmost importance in explaining and defending the mysteries of faith.

SAINT ANSELM. -- The great champion of sound philosophy and of orthodoxy in those days was the pious and learned St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury. Born in the year 1034, at Aosta, in Piedmont, he came to France, studied for three years in Burgundy, and in 1059, when he was twenty-five years of age, entered the famous school of Bec, in Normandy, which was the most celebrated school of the eleventh century. Three years later he became prior, and in 1078 was made abbot of the monastery, succeeding his countryman, Lanfranc of Pavia, who had been made archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc died in 1089, and four years later Anselm was appointed to the see of Canterbury, where he died in 1109.

Anselm represents all that is best in the first period of Scholasticism. The extent of his learning has never been called in question; his judgment was enlightened and sound; and, at a time when even the learned might have been confused by the multiplication of strange theories occasioned by the efforts of scholars to cultivate all branches of learning, he was the champion of truth and orthodoxy. Loyal to the faith, he made due allowance for the claims of reason, and held that it was a "sacred duty to reduce the truths of faith to scientific form, the neglect of which would expose Christians to the opprobrium of heing inferior to the pagans." This is the underlying principle of his "Prosologium," which has been called Fides quaerens intellectum, or, the truths of faith scientifically explained and developed.

[...]

St. Anselm's Works. -- St. Anselm's best known works are his Monologium (Soliloquy) and the Prosologium (Continuation of Meditations). In these works he carefully distinguished faith from reason, and became a living and influential opponent of the rationalistic tendencies which had been excited by the writings of Scotus Erigena. He did more. In the two works just mentioned, and in his treatises on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Procession of the Holy Ghost, on the Sin of Satan, on Original Sin, and De Conceptu Virginali, he laid the foundations of scientific theology.

"Hitherto," writes Mother Drane, "ecclesiastical writers had, for the most part, been content to gather up and reproduce the traditionary wisdom of the Fathers; but now, when those traditions had become firmly established, a scientific superstructure was to be raised on that broad foundation, and the theology of the Church was to be built up into a compact and well-ordered system. This was the work of the scholostic theologians, of whom St. Anselm may be considered the first." (Drane, Christian Schools and Scholars, [London, 1881], p. 313.)

To appreciate fully the services that he rendered, it must be borne in mind that he was a pioneer in the field in which he labored. Philosophy had been cultivated in Greece and Rome. The Christian Apologists had used reason, had used it well, in defence of their faith. The Fathers of the Church were not strangers to the learning and literature of their times; they were fearless giants, ready at all times to compete with the most powerful adversaries of Christianity. But the defence and explanation of Christian truths had not attained the perfection of a compact and well-ordered system. Many timid souls feared to use what was good in the works of the pagan philosophers. The schoolmaster, however, was abroad in the land: scholars would be misled if their studies were not properly directed; there was need of a saint and scholar who could direct philosophical studies with the assurance that the use of reason would not be detrimental to the Christian faith. This St. Anselm did by his character and career, as well as by his writings, which inaugurated, in the Western Church, the systematic explanation and defence of Christian doctrine. He was a pioneer in determining the true relations between faith and reason, showing that one could be at the same time a great philosopher and a good Christian. Later we shall see how St. Thomas perfected the system which St. Anselm built upon the works of St. Augustine, Boethius and the early Christian Apologists. (See Leo XIII, Encycl. Aeterni Patris in "Great Encyclicals of Leo XIII," pp. 36-48.)

The work begun by St. Anselm was continued by Peter Lombard, Albertus Magnus, Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas of Aquin, to whom the world is indebted for those celebrated Summae (See Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. Summae.) or Manuals of Theology, which served as the models of all subsequent theological treatises.

To St. Anselm is due the honor of inaugurating this important scientific movement, and for this reason he has been called the "Father of the Scholastics."

In Festo S. Anselmi, OSB (Apr. 21), Acta


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From Matins of the Feast of St. Anselm, Confessor, Bishop and Doctor (2nd Nocturn)

Ansélmus, Augústæ Prætóriæ in fínibus Itáliæ, Gundúlpho et Ermembérga nobílibus et cathólicis paréntibus natus, a téneris annis assíduo litterárum stúdio atque perfectióris vitæ desidério, non obscúrum futúræ sanctitátis et doctrínæ spécimen dedit. Et licet juveníli ardóre aliquándo ad sæculi illécebras traherétur, brevi tamen in prístinam viam revocátus, pátria et bonis ómnibus derelíctis, ad monastérium Beccénse órdinis sancti Benedícti se cóntulit ; ubi, emíssa regulári professióne, sub Herluíno abbáte observantíssimo et Lanfránco viro doctíssimo, tanto ánimi fervóre et jugi stúdio in lítteris et virtútibus assequéndis profécit, ut mirum in modum tamquam sanctitátis et doctrínæ exémplar ab ómnibus haberétur.

Anselm was born of noble and Catholic parents, named Gundulph and Hermenberga, at Aosta, in Piedmont. From his tenderest years his diligence in study, and his aspirations to a more perfect state of life, gave no indistinct foreshadowing of the holiness and learning to which he afterwards attained. The heat of youth drew him for a while into the snares of the world, but he soon returned to his first courses, and, forsaking his own country and his goods, betook himself to the monastery of Bec, under the rule of St. Benedict. There he made his profession as a monk, and under the rigid discipline of Herluin, the Abbot, and the learned instruction of the profound Lanfranc, with great zeal of spirit and eager obedience to the Rule, he made such progress in learning and godliness, that he shone before all others as an ensample of holiness of life, and power of doctrine.

Abstinéntiæ et continéntiæ tantæ fuit, ut assiduitáte jejúnii omnis pene cibórum sensus in eo viderétur exstínctus. Diúrno enim témpore in exercítiis monásticis docéndo, et respondéndo váriis de religióne quæsítis eménso ; quod réliquum erat noctis, somno subtrahébat, ut divínis meditatiónibus, quas perénni lacrimárum imbre fovébat, mentem recreáret. Eléctus in priórem monastérii ínvidos fratres ita caritáte, humilitáte et prudéntia lenívit, ut quos æmulos accéperat, sibi et Deo amícos, máximo cum reguláris observántiæ emoluménto, rédderet. Mórtuo abbáte, et in ejus locum, licet invítus, sufféctus, tanta doctrínæ et sanctitátis fama ubíque refúlsit, ut non modo régibus et epíscopis veneratióni esset, sed sancto Gregório séptimo étiam accéptus, qui tunc magnis persecutiónibus agitátus, lítteras amóris plenas ad eum dedit, quibus se et Ecclésiam cathólicam ejus oratiónibus commendábat.

Mortification and purity were his marked characteristics, and by constant fasting all taste for food seemed to have died in him. He spent the day in the monastic work, in teaching, and in answering hard questions upon religion, and he took away from sleep during what remained to him of the night, that he might refresh his soul by thoughts of God, wherein he was alway comforted by an unceasing flow of tears. When he was chosen Prior of the monastery, he so won over, by his charity, loweliness, and wisdom, some brethren who looked ill upon him, that from enviers, as he had found them, he turned them into lovers of God and of himself likewise, with exceeding gain to the strictness of observance in that Abbey. After the death of the Abbot, Anselm, though against his own will, was chosen to succeed him. In this high place the light of his learning and holiness so shone all round about, that he was reverenced not only by Kings and Bishops, but was taken up by the holy Pope Gregory VII, who, amid the great persecutions which were then trying him, wrote with words of great love to Anselm to recommend himself and the Catholic Church to his prayers.

Defúnctus Lanfránco archiepíscopo Cantuariénsi, ejus olim præceptóre, Ansélmus, urgénte Willélmo Angliæ rege et instántibus clero ac pópulo, ipso tamen repugnánte, ad ejúsdem ecclésiæ régimen vocátus, statim (ut corrúptos pópuli mores reformáret) verbo et exémplo prius, dein scriptis, et concíliis celebrátis, prístinam pietátem et ecclesiásticam disciplínam redúxit. Sed cum mox idem Willélmus rex vi et minis Ecclésiæ jura usurpáre tentásset, ipse sacerdotáli constántia réstitit ; bonorúmque direptiónem et exsílium passus, Romam ad Urbánum secúndum se cóntulit : a quo honorífice excéptus et summis láudibus ornátus est, cum in Barénsi concílio Spíritum Sanctum étiam a Fílio procedéntem, contra Græcórum errórem, innúmeris Scripturárum et sanctórum Patrum testimóniis propugnásset. E vivis Willélmo subláto, ab Henríco rege, ejus fratre, in Angliam revocátus, obdormívit in Dómino ; famam non solum miraculórum et sanctitátis (præcípue ob insígnem devotiónem erga Dómini nostri passiónem et beátam Vírginem ejus Matrem) assecútus, sed étiam doctrínæ, quam ad defensiónem Christiánæ religiónis, animárum proféctum, et ómnium theologórum, qui sacras lítteras scholástica méthodo tradidérunt, normam cælitus hausísse ex ejus libris ómnibus appáret.

After the death of Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, whose teacher Lanfranc had formerly been, was driven by William II, King of England, supported by the entreaties of the clergy and people, though sorely against his own wishes to take upon him the government of that Church. Raised to that See he straightway set himself to reform the corrupt manners of the people, and, first by his word and example, and then by his writings and the Councils which he held, succeeded in restoring the ancient godliness and discipline of the Church. But when the aforesaid King William tried by force and threats to seize on the rights of the Church, Anselm withstood him as beseemed a Priest, and after that he had suffering the plundering of all his goods, and been sent into banishment, he betook himself to Rome to Urban II. There he was received with great worship, and won high praise for that in the Council of Bari, he maintained by countless proofs from Scripture and the holy Fathers, against the error of the Greeks, that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Son also. When William lived no more, his brother Henry I, King of England, called back Anselm thither, and there he fell asleep in the Lord. His is a name illustrious not for miracles only, nor for holiness (and indeed he had a wondrous love for his Lord who had suffered for him, and for the blessed Maiden Mother of the same our Lord), but also for the deep learning which he used for the defence of the Christian Religion and the good of souls. That wonderful knowledge of theology which he had, and which is shewn in all the books which he wrote, seemeth to have been given him from heaven for the teaching of all writers on the same subject, who have used what is called the Scholastic method.