The Archbishop of Canterbury best remembered as the framer of the ontological proof of God, and the argument that Christ died not to pay ransom to the devil (the traditional conception since Origen) but to satisfy the honour of God. His famous motto is "faith seeks understanding.
Born in the town of Aosta (Italy) to a father with considerable influence in the church but also rather abusive, Anselm left home for the last time in1056, crossing the Alps into France. For three years he wandered aimlessly but eventually befriended his fellow Italian Lanfranc and became his assistant at the abbey in Bec, Normandy. Here he flourished and wrote his first work, Proslogion, in which he advocated the use of reason in the service of theology. He was promoted to abbot of Bec in 1078, a task for which he was not very suited. In 1093, at the age of 60, he left for England where he had been appointed to succeed Lanfranc as archbishop of Canterbury. His attempts at reforms in the church led to differences with King William Rufus and was exiled until the king's death, when he returned to Canterbury. Differences with the new king, Henry I led to another exile, until a compromise was brokered and he was allowed back to Canterbury in 1107, where he died two years later.
As a teacher Anselm wrote widely and was influential in establishing the foundations for later scholasticism. One of his most famous dictum is "I do not seek to understand than I may believe, I believe so that I may understand . . . for unless I believe I will not understand.
RESOURCES:
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy"
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy"
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