The theophanic argument: another reading of Anselm of Canterbury

Abstract

This paper re-reads the meaning and tenor of Anselm's argument in light of his life, which offers a rich perspective on the famous formula Deus est aliquid quo nihil majus cogitari possit – commonly translated, "God is something of which nothing greater can be thought". It will only receive its true meaning for today as it describes the common experience that is intended here [(I) hermeneutics] and shows the kind of manifestation that is considered here [(II) phenomenology]. In the light of this double reading - hermeneutic and phenomenological - the celebrated argument of the Proslogion will again find its true relevance for our time. Avoiding the restriction to its purely confessional (K. Barth, M. Corbin) or entirely secular (R. Roques, P. Vignaux, A. de Libera, K. Flash, etc.) readings, it is convenient to give it back its "theophanic" content, so that it can be seen by all through the prism of a lived experience, be it only conceptual or also religious. There is mysticism in philosophy pure and simple, if we extend it to a kind of experience that involves us completely.