Deductive arguments: Anselm - God as the greatest possible being

Anselm composed the Proslogion, in which he attempted to offer a single rational proof for the existence of God, expressed in deductive form. For Anselm, faith came first. His faith was that God existed, was the source of all being and the ultimate good. Reason was employed to deepen his understanding of what his faith told him.

Proslogion 2
He references Psalm 14:1, as he states 'Truly there is a God, although the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God"'. Anselm presents the reader with the dichotomy of his argument - that there are two positions in reference to the existence of God: acceptance or denial (thiest vs athiest)

An athiest is a person who denies any possibility of the existence of God. For Anselm's fool, this was more like a self-delusion in order to live a life of injustice/corruption. They were 'fooling' themselves that God's punishment could be avoided. This denial was not a rejection of a being called God,…