Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Anselm's Proof

Anselm's Proof

Leftow, Brian

Hardcover

PhilosophyReligion General

PREORDER - Expected ship date November 19, 2026

ISBN10: 019880069X
ISBN13: 9780198800699
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Nov 19 2026
Pages: 360
Language: English
Anselm's Proof provides a new analysis and a thorough defence of the first ontological argument for God's existence, given by Anselm in his Proslogion. It shows that Anselm's background ontology is Meinongian, how to read the argument in light of this, and that Anselm's argument is logically valid. It also demonstrates that one can retool the argument without its Meinongian ontology and preserve its validity. The volume then rebuts all extant objections to the argument. Many accuse the argument of begging the question, but Anselm's Proof considers a wide variety of views of what it is to beg the question, and shows that Anselm's argument does not do so on any good understanding of this fallacy. Many dismiss Anselm's argument by offering parodies which prove the existence of various entities. Anselm's Proof provides a detailed, thorough discussion of parody objections, contending that no parody of the Proslogion argument succeeds in showing it to be a bad one. Many have thought that Kant's dictum that existence is not a predicate is the death-knell of all ontological arguments, but Anselm's Proof shows that Kant's claim is just irrelevant to Proslogion.

The volume also acquits the Proslogion argument of charges by Aquinas and current Meinongians. The upshot is that no objection so far brought defeats the Proslogion argument. Anselm's Proof also provides support for two of the Proslogion argument's three premises. Thus if Anselm's Proof is correct, the success of Anselm's project hinges entirely on how well one can support the final premise.

Also in

Philosophy

View All