Cet article propose l’analyse de quelques chapitres du Monologion d’Anselme de Canterbury (1033-1109) qui traitent de la création ex nihilo. L’auteur y démontre que le Dieu créateur est une cause uniquement efficiente, et non matérielle, de sa création ; il n’y a donc pas de cause autre qu’efficiente au passage du non-être à l’être, le devenir n’a pas de cause matérielle. La création n’est pas un engendrement, ni l’action conjointe de deux principes (la puissance et la matière, par (...) exemple), mais l’acte efficient d’un être qui n’a besoin d’aucune autre cause que lui-même pour créer son autre. La théorie anselmienne de la création est ensuite située dans l’histoire générale de la causalité ; ignorant la quadripartition aristotélicienne des causes, Anselme développe, pour les besoins de la compréhension théologique, une théorie binaire fondée sur l’efficience et ses adjuvants. Or il semble que cette conception de la causalité puisse trouver sa source dans le stoïcisme cicéronien. Par ailleurs, elle a pu elle-même constituer un modèle ontologique pour la conception mécaniste de la cause à l’âge classique, en définissant la cause comme ce qui est au principe de l’existence de l’effet, plutôt qu’un principe explicatif formel ou final. (shrink)

_ Source: _Volume 53, Issue 2-4, pp 194 - 220 This paper offers an interpretation of Anselm of Canterbury’s semantic doctrines in _De Grammatico_, paying special attention to five distinctions present in the dialogue: _dicitur in eo quod quale/dicitur in eo quod quid, esse ut in subiecto/esse non ut in subiecto, significare/appellare, significare ut unum/significare non ut unum_ and _significare per se/significare per aliud_. It elucidates the theoretical role of these distinctions, showing that they are introduced with different purposes (...) and that conflation between them must be avoided. Three specific features of this interpretation are the following: an analysis of the distinction between _significare_ and _appellare_ in relation to the orders of intellection and predication, an account of the difference between predication _in eo quod quid/in eo quod quale_ and essential and accidental predication, and an analysis of the thesis that ‘_grammaticus_’ not only signifies _per se qualitas_, but also _per se habere_. (shrink)

Proslogion.--Pro insipiente.--Liber apologéticus.

What sort of moral theory should we view Saint Anselm of Canterbury as holding and using in his writings? In this paper, I argue that Anselm is best understood as a virtue ethicist. In the first part of the paper, I consider whether his approach could be understood in terms of deontological or natural law theories. In the second, I make a case for Anselm being a virtue ethicist. In the third part, I focus on this theme as found (...) in treatises published during Anselm’s lifetime. In the fourth, I look at other texts within the Anselmian corpus, notably the De humanibus moribus and the Dicta Anselmi. In the fifth and sixth parts, I turn to Anselm’s letters, focusing first on general discussions, and then on discussions focused upon specific virtues and vices. -/- . (shrink)

Die Konstitution des menschlich-personalen Geistes ist fur Augustinus und Anselm von<I> Canterbury von<I> zentraler Bedeutung. Dabei sind Einheit und Identitat des Geistes und die Erkenntnis Gottes als des immer schon gewussten absoluten Grundes untrennbar miteinander verbunden. Dies wird bei Augustinus unter anderem in der Zeituberhobenheit des Geistes und bei Anselm im ontologischen Argument deutlich. Mit Hilfe der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse konnen auch unterschiedliche Perspektiven in okumenischer Hinsicht deutlich gemacht werden, wie anhand zweier Exkurse aufgezeigt wird.".

This study reads Anselm of Canterbury's enigmatic work De grammatico as his introduction to dialectic, covering a model for discourse, a theory of fallacies, and a theory of signification. It provides a new perspective on Anselm's dialectical thought, on dialectic in the 11th century, and on the continuity with 12th Century logical thought.

Was Anselm zu einem leuchtenden Vorbild für die Theologie heute werden lässt, ist nicht seine Gelehrsamkeit, sondern das Wagnis, auf die Anfragen seiner Zeit durch mutige und eigenständige Synthesen des christlichen Denkens zu antworten. Die hier vorliegende Interpretation gestaltet sich als Versuch, die zuletzt etwas eingefahren wirkende Zugangsweise zum Werk Anselms auf einen neuen Boden zu stellen. Die Komplementarität von Teleologie und Eschatologie, bzw. die Begründung der ersteren in der letzteren bietet dafür den begrifflichen Rahmen, von welchem her sich neue (...) Einblicke in das Denken des Doctor magnificus ergeben. (shrink)

English summary: What is freedom? Are humans free? And are God and human freedom compatible? These questions are raised by Anselm of Canterbury in his dialogues on freedom. Katrin Konig interprets Anselm's theory of freedom in its theological and historical context and brings it into a dialogue with contemporary analytic theories of freedom. Thereby a qualitative concept of freedom as a gift towards the good is contributed: gifted freedom. According to this understanding, freedom is something greater than individual self-determination (...) or choice between alternative possibilities. It is grounded in the perception of truth, unfolded in the love of justice and compatible with perfect determination by the action of God. In this horizon it is possible to discern the aporia of the modern debate on determinism and to reconcile seeming contradictions. German description: Was ist Freiheit? Ist der Mensch frei? Und: Sind Gott und menschliche Freiheit vereinbar? Diese Fragen untersucht Anselm von Canterbury in seinen Freiheitsdialogen. Katrin Konig deutet Anselms Freiheitstheorie in ihrem theologischen Zusammenhang, verortet sie historisch und bringt sie ins Gesprach mit analytisch-philosophischen Freiheitstheorien der Gegenwart. Damit wird ein qualitativer Begriff von Freiheit als Gabe zum Guten zur Diskussion gestellt: begnadete Freiheit. Freiheit ist diesem Verstandnis nach mehr als individuelle Selbstbestimmung oder Wahl zwischen alternativen Moglichkeiten. Sie grundet in Wahrheitserkenntnis, entfaltet sich in Gerechtigkeitsliebe und ist mit vollkommener Bestimmtheit durch das Wirken Gottes vereinbar. In diesem Horizont konnen Aporien der modernen Determinismusdebatte wahrgenommen und scheinbare Gegensatze vermittelt werden. (shrink)

Existence and uniqueness are standard questions in cases where definite descriptions are used. In his Proslogion Anselm of Canterbury uses definite and non-definite descriptions of God: He is “id/aliquid quo maius cogitari non potest” (and similar). While Anselm’s proof for the existence of God is widely discussed, including its relations to those famous descriptions, this is not the case for the question of uniqueness. Is there at most one perfect being or might there be more than one? ‘Of course (...) there can at most be one’, one might want to answer – but what reasons for this claim can be found in the Proslogion? In this celebrated work of philosophical theology, Anselm does not prove uniqueness explicitly. But one may try a proof “in the spirit of the Proslogion”. (shrink)

Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist — «diese drei Personen sind der eine Gott und nicht drei Götter... und ist alles eins, wo nicht der Gegensatz der Beziehungen begegnet», heißt es im Glaubensbekenntnis des Konzils von Florenz 1. «Dieses fundamentale Prinzip der Trinitätstheologie wurde zuerst, wie es scheint, von Anselm von Canterbury, De processione Spiritus Sancti c. 1 ausgeführt», wie die gelehrten Herausgeber anmerken. In der Erstausgabe des Denzinger-Enchiridion wurde in Anmerkung auf die Conciliorum collectio..., tom. I des P. J. (...) Hardouin S. J. hingewiesen: «die lateinischen und griechischen Theologen betonen: relatio... multiplicat personas in divinis» und im Nachsatz Anselm erwähnt. Diese Anmerkung entspricht besser dem kritischen Befund einer historischen Analyse, die zu leisten ist. (shrink)

Anselm of Canterbury holds that freedom of the will is a necessary condition for moral responsibility. This condition, however, turns out to be trivially fulfilled by all rational creatures at all times. In order to clarify the necessary conditions for moral responsibility, we must look more widely at his discussion of the nature of the will and of willed action. In this paper, I examine his theory of voluntariness by clarifying his account of the sin of Satan in De (...) casu diaboli. Anselm agrees with Augustine that the sinful act cannot be given a causal explanation in terms of a distinct preceding act of will or desire or choice. He thus rejects volitionalist accounts of Satan's sin and thus of voluntary action in general. He moves beyond his predecessor, however, in insisting on the necessity of an explanation in terms of reasons, and his theory of the dual nature of the rational will is designed to meet this demand. A comparison of Satan's case with the case of the miser of De casu diaboli 3,... (shrink)

For a long time scholars ignored Anselm of Canterbury’s dialogue, De grammatico. It was not until D. P. Henry’s investigations in the 1960s and 70s that it was seriously studied. He showed that it was an important work, but his interpretation was peculiar. The main point of it was to show that Anselm thought traditional logic inadequate for analyzing logical problems and that he wanted to establish a new language that was better suited for the task. Henry also argued (...) that the logical system of the Polish logician, Lesniewski, best captured Anselm’s new logical language.It is only very recently that his interpretation has been challenged. In a paper from 2000, M. M. Adams argued that De grammatico should be seen as an introduction for students to Aristotle’s Categories . She is much closer to the truth than Henry, but Anselm’s work seems too sophisticated to be an introduction, even though the problem he is dealing with. (shrink)

After Aquinas, Anselm is the most significant medieval thinker. Utterly convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, he was none the less determined to try to make sense of his Christian faith, and the result is a rigorous engagement with problems of logic which remain relevant for philosophers and theologians even today. This translation provides the first opportunity to read all of Anselm's most important works in one volume.

Interpretations of Anselm's Proslogion range between the extremes of 'rationalism' and 'fideism' because of the challenge of unifying its philosophical and devotional aspects. In this book, Bayer argues that a 'monastic interpretation' - or an interpretation that takes seriously the intellectual significance of our existential commitments - offers a powerful compromise. Through an extensive study of Anselm's spiritualty, especially as it is manifested in his letters and homiletic works, coupled with a profound study of Anselm's philosophy of language in the (...) De grammatico and Monologion, Bayer aims to reveal the Anselmian unity of life and thought, and thereby also the harmony between faith and reason. In this way, he defends the Proslogion as a unified and probative argument. (shrink)

Anselmo de Cantuária investiga no Proslogion (caps. 5-12) se o conteúdo de nossas palavras se refere de modo adequado à substância criadora. Essa obra de Anselmo pode ser considerada como uma meditação realizada por um espírito que busca entender aquilo que inicialmente crê a respeito do ser divino. O Proslogion nos oferecerá um caminho para pensar o sentido da busca de razões no domínio exclusivo da fé, do esforço da palavra humana para encontrar aquilo que já fora dito por outra (...) palavra. Este artigo visa a explicitar o sentido dessa racionalidade, naquilo que diz respeito aos "nomes divinos". A designação id quod summum omnium (Proslogion, cap.5) retoma um tema já presente na reflexão anselmiana e impõe ao teólogo um desafio: articular, sob a dialética do melius, o modo propriamente humano de a criatura referir-se a Deus, reconhecido como maius e distante de qualquer relação de continuidade com o mundo. In his Proslogion (chapter 5-12), Anselm of Canterbury investigates whether the content of our words refers in an adequate way to the creative substance. This work of Anselm may be considered as the meditation of a soul who seeks to understand that which it already believes about the divine being. The Proslogion offers us a way to think about the meaning of the search for reasons within the domain of faith, and about the power of human words to find out what has already said in other words. This article attempts to explain the meaning of this rationality with respect to 'divine names'. The designation id quod summum omnium (Proslogion, chapter 5) takes up a theme presented earlier in Anselm's reflections, and it imposes on the theologian a challenge: to articulate, within the melius dialectic, the properly human way of referring to God, recognized as maius and distant from any relation of continuity with the world. (shrink)

T. 1. Das ontologische Argument in der Geschichte der Philosophie.--T. 2. Anselms Bedeutung für die Geschichte von Philosophie und Theologie.

A detailed philosophical reconstruction of the theory of truth presented by Anselm von Canterbury in the context of his whole thinking and with a special consideration of his antique sources in Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine and Boethius.

I. General introduction to philosophy, by Cardinal Mercier. Cosmology, by D. Nys. Psychology, by Cardinal Mercier. Criteriology, by Cardinal Mercier. General metaphysics; or, Ontology, by Cardinal Mercier. Appendix to Cosmology, by D. Nys.--II. Natural theology; or, Theodicy, by Cardinal Mercier. Logic, by Cardinal Mercier. Ethics: General ethics, by A. Arendt (based on Cardinal Mercier's notes); Special ethics, by J. Halleux. History of philosophy, by M. de Wulf. Synopsis in the form of the principal theses. Glossary of scholastic terms, by G. (...) Simons. (shrink)