A prova da existência de Deus no argumento de Anselmo de Cantuária no Proslogium

Abstract

This research presents the thought of Anselmo de Cantuária, a Catholic religious who lived in the 11th century, as a theme for reflection. The argumentation he organized came to be known as the ontological argument. This is a relevant argument, especially when one considers the current tendency to affirm that faith and reason are antagonistic dimensions. For Anselm, antagonistically, the existence of God could be proved by rational means. For that, he writes the work Proslogium, in which he develops his argument in order to achieve the proofs of God's existence. Anselm was therefore convinced that it was impossible for a foolish man to claim that God does not exist. This monograph aims to present the exposition presented by Anselm of Canterbury as an ontological argument, which seeks to prove the existence of God through pure reason, starting from the definition of the concept of God as the supreme and perfect being and, therefore, to discuss about the main objections to Anselm's thought. For this, it is necessary to recognize that Anselm's thought is directly influenced by the mentality and culture inherent in the Late Middle Ages. The methodology used in the present monographic text consists of bibliographical research, the primary bibliographical reference being the book Proslogion: with the responses of Gaunilo and Anselm. In addition, a wide range of academic productions on the theme worked were also analyzed.