Theological and Philosophical Reasoning on God’s Existence in the Monologion

Abstract

Throughout the history of philosophical reflection, both theologians and philosophers have sought to formulate arguments supporting not only the existence of God but also an understanding of His essence. Anselm of Canterbury employs a rational method in his efforts to demonstrate God’s existence in both the Monologion and the Proslogion. The Monologion, subtitled On the Divine Essence, represents a significant attempt at rationally establishing the existence and nature of God through the gradations of perfection found within being itself. In contrast, the Proslogion adopts a more concise, a priori rational approach, presenting a logical argument for the existence of God. In this work, Anselm reflects on his earlier effort, which he considers an insufficient attempt to demonstrate the “reason of faith” through a combination of multiple arguments (concatentione multorum argumentorum). This retrospective assessment is echoed in the similar structure with which he introduces his subsequent works, including both the Proslogion and Why God Became Man. In the preface to the Proslogion, Anselm explains that certain brethren had frequently and earnestly requested that he commit to writing, in the form of a meditation, the ideas he had previously delivered in sermons and which they had carefully recorded. In response, he composed this meditative reflection on the divine being. Anselm thus maintains that he employs necessary and rational arguments concerning the existence of God, aiming to articulate faith through reasoned demonstration.