CONTRIBUTION OF ST ANSELM

St. Anselm's Contribution

Anselm's contribution to Catholic Christians

Introduction

Anselm's place in both the history of philosophy and the history of theology is firmly recognized. Anselm, who described the moderni as heretics of dialectic and said that they were to be hissed away (exsufflandi) from discussion of spiritual questions, introduced in his own theology one of the most notable of all dialectical heresies [p. 201]. Anselm's connection to logic is only noted in so far as the argument for the existence of God “suggests strongly the influence of Stoic logic, exercised perhaps through St. Augustine” [p. 202].

Discussions of Anselm in [Kretzmann et al. 1982] concentrate on his linguistic theory, particularly his views on grammar and paronymy [pp. 134-142]; his theory of truth [pp. 501-502]; and his views on freedom of the will and its relationship to future contingents [pp. 359-61, 632]. While the first certainly counts as “logic” if we consider the scope of the term in the Middle Ages, it would more likely be classified contemporarily as “philosophy of language”, and similarly with his theory of truth. The last topic is the most closely related to logic as it was understood by logicians in the 20th century, but the CHLMP discussion focuses on the philosophical issues, rather than the logical ones. What is even more telling is that there is no mention of Anselm in the chapter on modalities, where one would expect Anselm's works to have a prominent place. This latter fact can be at least partially explained by noting that Anselm doesn't fall wholly within the scope of [Kretzmann et al. 1982]; instead, he falls at the end of the scope of [Armstrong 1970]. However, [Armstrong 1970, ch. 38] says almost nothing about Anselm's logic, focusing almost exclusively on “the philosophical interpretation of faith”.

Discussion

About Saint Anselm

Saint Anselm was born in Aosta Piedmont in 1033 A.D. Anselm knew he wanted to be a monk at an early age. After Anselm's father forbids him to pursue his dreams of being a monk, Anselm left home in his early twenties. Anselm moved to France where he became a monk in 1060 A.D. A few years later Anselm became prior before becoming Abbot. In 1093 A.D. Anselm was consecrated as Archbishop. The years that followed were that of tension and turmoil between Anselm and the king over matters such as money, etc... Saint Anselm took the issue to Rome where he received less help than he anticipated. During this time King William died and Saint Anselm returned to England. The new king thought very highly of Saint Anselm and never dismissed his ideas or views on important issues. Despite this, there were still disputes over matters such as money which had to be settled by Rome. Even though there were disagreements over certain matters, Saint Anselm and the king still maintained a good relationship. The remainder of Saint Anselm's life was relatively peaceful until his death in 1109 A.D.

Anselm Contribution

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