Leaving aside the controversy over how to typify Anselm’s argument, it is possible to affirm that his “proof” or “argument” has sufficient intellectual penetration and exquisite simplicity that make it a powerful argumentative instrument. God is defined as “that from which nothing greater can be thought.” God, in that sense, is that which we conceive as the greatest (or perfect) among all greatness, to an infinite degree.
Saint Anselm also considers that something existing in reality is always greater than that which only exists in thought; consequently, “that of which nothing greater can be thought,” that is, God, must really exist. If this is not the case, then it is worth thinking about something greater, and if that were the case, immediately afterwards, we would have to think about God, because only of Him is it possible to affirm “that there is nothing greater.”
Son of Mary, theologian at the service of the Church
In 1078 Anselm was elected abbot of Bec, which forced him to travel frequently to England. After the death of Lanfranc (1089), Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury on December 4, 1093, although King William the Red (William II of England) initially opposed his appointment. King William had been very hostile to Catholics in general, and was later hostile, in particular, to Anselm. On more than one occasion, given the monk’s influence, he banished him from the island. Behind it was the controversy over the investitures: William wanted to be the one to appoint the bishops in his kingdom and not the Pope.