The Proof of God: The Debate That Shaped Modern Belief

Larry Witham

Evaluates the heated debate among the philosophers Anselm of Bec, William of Ockham, and Rene Descartes, offering insight into the factors that influenced each thinker's seminal belief systems while exploring the ways in which each shaped modern-world thought... Stating the idea that the ""idea"" and ""reality"" of God were the same, Anselm of Bec provoked enormous controversy through his radical approach: rather than appealing to the Bible, church authority or the physical senses, Anselm exployed the faculties of his mind crafting a method of logic that paved the way for modern thought. Larry Witham traces humans' modern conceptions of faith and reason back to Anselm's formidable claim. In an attempt to ""prove God"", Anselm unleashed a raging medieval debate and this history, biography and philosophy further examines his statements.