Word: anselms
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...Ontological Proof. This, the most controversial approach, moves from a mental concept of God to his actual existence. It was originated by Anselm, the 11th century Archbishop of Canterbury who defined God as "a being than which nothing greater can be thought." The Archbishop reasoned that since existence would have to be part of any such perfect and necessary being, this being must actually exist. This is "too good to be true," says one skeptic, and even one of its current defenders admits that it "looks too much like word magic...
...logical process of speculating about "possible worlds" in which things could be different. For example, he says, Raquel Welch has "impressive assets" in our world. But there are possible worlds in which she is "mousy and 50 lbs. overweight," and others in which she is totally nonexistent, adding: "What Anselm means to suggest is that Raquel Welch enjoys very little greatness in those worlds in which she does not exist...
Ross, a leader in modernizing the thought of medieval scholars, favors the revision of Anselm done by John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) but does some renovation himself. In the forthcoming new edition of his Philosophical Theology (Hackett; $17.50), Ross is bold enough to claim that he has an airtight proof that "remains unscathed" after a decade of scrutiny. Ross does this with his "Principle E" (for explicability), which is virtually inexplicable to the uninitiated. Roughly, it means that it is possible for everything, including God's existence, to be explained, but that God's nonexistence does not admit...
...Hawks, however, that demonstrated to near perfection the fine art of the jump shot in the first half. St. Anselm's shot a sizzling 70 per cent, sparked by the efforts of Jamie Oliver (six for six) and Matt Burdick (six for seven...
...basketball 78, St. Anselm...