Anselm

Proslogium and Monologium (Including In Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon and Reply by Anselm)

In this compilation of St. Anselm's most important works, St. Anselm uses reason and philosophical argument to defend the Christian faith against non-believers. St. Anselm stresses the importance of our rational nature as humans, encouraging Christians that they should be "always ready to convince anyone who demands of them a reason of that hope which is in us." In his Proslogium, St. Anselm presents the Ontological Argument, an argument for the existence of God in which God is defined as, "a being than which none greater can be conceived." In Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon, St. Anselm discusses a counterargument offered by his contemporary, Gaunilon, a Benedictine monk who questioned St. Anselm's definition of God. Monologium considers the attributes of God. This collection is a fine example of the intertwining of medieval philosophy and Christian apologetics. St. Anselm's argument for the existence of God influenced many philosophers in the early modern era and continues to influence thinkers today.