Anselm

I am a fool, who at one point did not think of the greatest book on Anselm that can be thought of. But one day someone mentioned the existence of such a book to me. I therefore thought of such a book and surely it would be greater for the greatest possible book on Anselm to exist in actuality rather than in my understanding alone. Such a book on Anselm, one that no greater can be thought of, must exist in the real world of books. From which point I realized the greatest book on Anselm that can be thought of, if it truly is the greatest would be available on Amazon, for if it was not available on Amazon then it would not be the greatest possible book. The greatest book on Anselm also would not be as great if I did not choose to buy such a book, for if I did not buy such a book then it would not be the greatest book. Thus, I purchased this book, the greatest Book on Anselm that can be thought of and it fulfilled all my expectations. A possible world does not exist in which I would not have chosen to purchase this book and even if I had free will I still would have chosen to purchase this book. There might not be a necessary causal connection between you ordering this book and receiving this book but I recommend doing so anyway. Excellent read, the book was able to stand up to both a snow storm and rain storm so far and it will also change your understanding of Anselm for the better.

This new work by Visser and Williams on the famous medieval thinker Anselm of Bec is a well written and heavily detailed investigation of Anselm's primary philosophical positions. Part of Oxford's "Great Medieval Thinkers," the book is not designed to be a biography and life history of Anselm, but is rather more focused on the thinking, logic, and philosophy of Anselm as he developed his arguments for the great issues of his time. One of the real strengths of this book is that it does not just tell us what Anselm thought about a particular thing, but helps us step through the logical development and argumentation for such positions, often using math logic expressions to help operationalize the concepts. This is not a book for casual reading, that is, if you are attempting to put effort into conceptualizing the content: even for those with a background in these subjects will need time to wrestle with the content and to absorb the ideas being presented. But the book is surprisingly well written (as are most in this Oxford set), and the written clarity and textual lucidity greatly assist in working through the book. It is certainly an excellent work on which to build a primary understand of what Anselm thought about all these major issues. The book is available in both hardback and softbound editions, and although I would normally opt for a paperback for cost reasons, I have found that for books in this Oxford set, there is real utility in having the hardback variants because of the amount of back-and-forth page turning that goes on, the need to gloss with marginal notes in pencil, and so on. And it is unfortunate that Oxford chose to release all these books is such a size-reduced package to save costs. The type is quite small, and I have found that reading glasses and excellent lighting must be used in order to clearly read the text. It's something I do not understand: these books are not inexpensive, and so why could they not have been printed in font sizes that would aid in the digestion of this complex content? But having said that, don't let that issue keep you away from the text: this is an excellent volume, and if you have an interest in the subject, this should be high on your list. An excellent set of notes and a full bibliography is also included. Five stars (except for the small-font, reduced size of the book). Other books in the series ...

Before finding this book, I had dismissed Anselm's version of the Ontological argument right along with Gaunilo. The clear presentation in this book made me see Anselm in a new (and more positive) light. Excellent work!

I am a fool, who at one point did not think of the greatest book on Anselm that can be thought of. But one day someone mentioned the existence of such a book to me. I therefore thought of such a book and surely it would be greater for the greatest possible book on Anselm to exist in actuality rather than in my understanding alone. Such a book on Anselm, one that no greater can be thought of, must exist in the real world of books. From which point I realized the greatest book on Anselm that can be thought of, if it truly is the greatest would be available on Amazon, for if it was not available on Amazon then it would not be the greatest possible book. The greatest book on Anselm also would not be as great if I did not choose to buy such a book, for if I did not buy such a book then it would not be the greatest book. Thus, I purchased this book, the greatest Book on Anselm that can be thought of and it fulfilled all my expectations. A possible world does not exist in which I would not have chosen to purchase this book and even if I had free will I still would have chosen to purchase this book. There might not be a necessary causal connection between you ordering this book and receiving this book but I recommend doing so anyway. Excellent read, the book was able to stand up to both a snow storm and rain storm so far and it will also change your understanding of Anselm for the better.

This new work by Visser and Williams on the famous medieval thinker Anselm of Bec is a well written and heavily detailed investigation of Anselm's primary philosophical positions. Part of Oxford's "Great Medieval Thinkers," the book is not designed to be a biography and life history of Anselm, but is rather more focused on the thinking, logic, and philosophy of Anselm as he developed his arguments for the great issues of his time. One of the real strengths of this book is that it does not just tell us what Anselm thought about a particular thing, but helps us step through the logical development and argumentation for such positions, often using math logic expressions to help operationalize the concepts. This is not a book for casual reading, that is, if you are attempting to put effort into conceptualizing the content: even for those with a background in these subjects will need time to wrestle with the content and to absorb the ideas being presented. But the book is surprisingly well written (as are most in this Oxford set), and the written clarity and textual lucidity greatly assist in working through the book. It is certainly an excellent work on which to build a primary understand of what Anselm thought about all these major issues.The book is available in both hardback and softbound editions, and although I would normally opt for a paperback for cost reasons, I have found that for books in this Oxford set, there is real utility in having the hardback variants because of the amount of back-and-forth page turning that goes on, the need to gloss with marginal notes in pencil, and so on. And it is unfortunate that Oxford chose to release all these books is such a size-reduced package to save costs. The type is quite small, and I have found that reading glasses and excellent lighting must be used in order to clearly read the text. It's something I do not understand: these books are not inexpensive, and so why could they not have been printed in font sizes that would aid in the digestion of this complex content? But having said that, don't let that issue keep you away from the text: this is an excellent volume, and if you have an interest in the subject, this should be high on your list. An excellent set of notes and a full bibliography is also included. Five stars (except for the small-font, reduced size of the book).Other books in the series ...

Before finding this book, I had dismissed Anselm's version of the Ontological argument right along with Gaunilo. The clear presentation in this book made me see Anselm in a new (and more positive) light. Excellent work!