Rethinking Anselm's Arguments : A Vindication of His Proof of the Existence of God.

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Why Another Book on Anselm's Arguments? -- 1.2 Where is 'Anselm's Argument'? -- 1.3 The Two Main Divisions -- 1.4 The Layout of this Book -- Chapter 2 The Text of Proslogion 2-4 -- Chapter 3 The Structure of Anselm's Argument for the Existence of God -- 3.1 The Two Styles of Discourse -- 3.2 The Quest -- 3.3 The Formula -- 3.4 The Alleged Definition -- 3.5 The Three-Stage Structure -- 3.6 The Extended Quest -- Chapter 4 The First Stage: Being in the Understanding -- 4.1 The 'Title' of P2 -- 4.2 The Opening Prayer -- 4.3 The Formula's Logical Form -- 4.4 The Initial Belief -- 4.5 Translating "esse" -- 4.6 Being in the Fool's Understanding -- 4.7 How Thought Signifies -- 4.8 The Ambiguity in Thinking of Something -- 4.9 A New Beginning -- 4.10 Being in Anselm's Understanding -- Chapter 5 The First Stage: Being in Reality -- 5.1 Being Greater -- 5.2 Being in Reality -- 5.3 Kant's Thesis -- 5.4 Existing Necessarily -- 5.5 An Alternative Premise -- Chapter 6 The Transition to the Second Stage: Deducing its Premise -- 6.1 Gaps in the Argument -- 6.2 Inferring Existence from Being in Reality -- 6.3 Deducing the Premise of Stage Two -- Chapter 7 The Second Stage: Existing Intensely -- 7.1 The First Premise -- 7.2 The Second Premise -- 7.3 Something whose Non-existence is Unthinkable -- 7.4 The Alleged Missing Premise -- 7.5 Intensifying Existence -- 7.6 Deducing Anselm's Actual Conclusion -- 7.7 Universalizing the Conclusion -- 7.8 The Argument with the Alternative Premise -- Chapter 8 The Third Stage: The Existence of God -- 8.1 A Two-fold Strategy -- 8.2 The Theological Argument -- 8.3 The Metaphysical Argument -- 8.4 The Uniqueness Argument -- 8.5 The Identification of God -- 8.6 The Allegation of Begging the Question -- 8.7 The Allegation of Circularity -- 8.8 A Sceptical Hypothesis.

8.9 The Two Interpretations -- 8.10 Existing Most Truly and Maximally -- Chapter 9 The Fool and His Defenders -- 9.1 The Two Fools -- 9.2 The Dialectical Setting -- 9.3 The Disappearance of the Fool -- 9.4 How it is Possible to Think the Unthinkable -- 9.5 Gaunilo's Lost Island -- 9.6 'Tidying up' the Lost Island -- 9.7 Comparing the Arguments -- 9.8 Sinking the Lost Island -- Chapter 10 Anselm's Other Arguments -- 10.1 The First Leg of the Dilemma in Reply 1 -- 10.2 Possibilities and Necessities -- 10.3 The Second Leg of the Dilemma in Reply 1 -- 10.4 The Argument in Reply 5 -- 10.5 The Argument in Reply 9 -- 10.6 Anselm's Causal Argument -- 10.7 Thinking of Something-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be-thought -- Chapter 11 The Plausibility of the Premises -- 11.1 The Plausibility of Stage One -- 11.1.1 The Concept of Being in the Understanding -- 11.1.2 The Concept of Being in Reality -- 11.1.3 Why it is Good to be in Reality -- 11.1.4 Reasoning about Properties -- 11.1.5 Being Thought to be in Reality -- 11.1.6 Assessing Stage One -- 11.2 The Plausibility of Stage Two -- 11.2.1 The Concept of Existing Intensely -- 11.2.2 Assessing Stage Two -- 11.3 The Plausibility of Stage Three -- 11.3.1 The Theological Argument -- 11.3.2 The Metaphysical Argument -- 11.3.3 Everything Other than God -- 11.3.4 Assessing Stage Three -- 11.4 Being Able to Exist or Not to Exist -- 11.5 What can be Thought -- Chapter 12 The Character of the Argument -- 12.1 Anselm's Audience? -- 12.2 The Circle of Faith -- 12.3 What Kind of Proof? -- 12.4 Anselm's Proof and the Ontological Argument -- 12.5 Anselm's Cosmological Argument -- Chapter 13 The Quest Continues -- 13.1 God is 'per se ipsum' -- 13.2 God is the Creator and the Supreme Good -- 13.3 God is Whatever it is Better to be than Not to be -- 13.4 Some Puzzles about God's Attributes -- 13.5 The Anguish of Anselm's Quest.

13.6 God is Greater than can be Thought -- 13.7 The Quest to Experience God Resumes -- 13.8 Entering into Joy -- Appendix: The Inferences in Anselm's 3-Stage Argument -- References -- Index.

This book re-examines Anselm's famous arguments for the existence of God. It demonstrates how he validly deduces from plausible premises that God exists most truly of all. The standard criticisms are shown to be based on misreading the text.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.