--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it can be conceived at all - it must…" description: "\"If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.\" — Anselm Of Canterbury" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png" --- # If it can be conceived at all - it must exist. ![“If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.” quote by Anselm Of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png) > “If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.” [Anselm Of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If something can be thought of, then it has some form of existence in reality. **In simple terms:** Thought implies some existence. Key Takeaway Consider the implications of mental concepts. Themes philosophy ontology logic Mood contemplative inquisitive Type aphilosophical theoretical When to use this quote - theological debate - academic discussion - personal reflection Key Concepts existence conceptualism ontological argument Questions to Reflect On - Does imagining something guarantee its reality? - How does this affect belief in unseen entities? A Different Perspective The claim may conflate mental possibility with actual reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“When we were conceived, we were one egg and one sperm that inexplicably split into two little girls instead of one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-j-chambers/when-we-were-conceived-we-were-one-egg-and-one-sperm-that/) [V.J. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-j-chambers/) > [“Just as a child is conceived in a womb of a woman, miraculously, so is grace freely given by God, in sacred moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/just-as-a-child-is-conceived-in-a-womb-of-a-woman-miraculously-so-is/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/long-before-you-were-conceived-by-your-parents-you-were-conceived-in/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Free enterprise capitalism has been the most powerful creative system of social cooperation and human progress ever conceived, but its perception and its role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/free-enterprise-capitalism-has-been-the-most-powerful-creative-system/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [I was in a bookstore one afternoon, and I stumbled across this book called 'A Guide to Film Schools.' I always loved movies growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/i-was-in-a-bookstore-one-afternoon-and-i-stumbled-across-this-book/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [“Neither nations nor children should be conceived in public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-best/neither-nations-nor-children-should-be-conceived-in-public/) [James D. Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-best/) > [The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave, and this wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-electron-can-no-longer-be-conceived-as-a-single-small-granule-of/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“Somewhere, out in the infinite distance, lay the spring, at least in God's mind, like babies that are not yet conceived in the mother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/somewhere-out-in-the-infinite-distance-lay-the-spring-at-least-in-god/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“No, no, no! I am not giving birth backstage at a rock concert. I need to be in a hospital, pumped full of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-stephens/no-no-no-i-am-not-giving-birth-backstage-at-a-rock-concert-i-need-to/) [S.C. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-stephens/) > [He who is conceived in a cage yearns for the cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/he-who-is-conceived-in-a-cage-yearns-for-the-cage/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > ['Lord of the Rings' was a set of books in which the world had been conceived before the characters were placed within that context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/lord-of-the-rings-was-a-set-of-books-in-which-the-world-had-been/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“Our union with God is consummated when Christ is conceived within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-trimm/our-union-with-god-is-consummated-when-christ-is-conceived-within-us/) [Cindy Trimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-trimm/) > [Only Christ could have conceived Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/only-christ-could-have-conceived-christ/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) > [The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rise-of-capitalist-practice-and-morality-brought-with-it-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > ['Funny Games' was conceived as a provocation. My other films are different. If people feel my other films are, or respond to them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/funny-games-was-conceived-as-a-provocation-my-other-films-are/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) ## More by Anselm Of Canterbury > [Let no worldly prosperity divert you, nor any worldly adversity restrain you from His praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/let-no-worldly-prosperity-divert-you-nor-any-worldly-adversity/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved. Remove free will and you have nothing that could be saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/remove-grace-and-you-have-nothing-whereby-to-be-saved-remove-free/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Thus you are just not because you give what is owed, but because you do what is appropriate to you as the highest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/thus-you-are-just-not-because-you-give-what-is-owed-but-because-you/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [It is impossible to save one's soul without devotion to Mary and without her protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/it-is-impossible-to-save-one-s-soul-without-devotion-to-mary-and/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [A Prayer of Anselm My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/a-prayer-of-anselm-my-god-i-pray-that-i-may-so-know-you-and-love-you/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God often works more by the life of the illiterate seeking the things that are God's, than by the ability of the learned seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-often-works-more-by-the-life-of-the-illiterate-seeking-the-things/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Therefore Lord, not only are you that than which a greater cannot be thought but you are also something greater than can be thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/therefore-lord-not-only-are-you-that-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God does not delay to hear our prayers because He has no mind to give; but that, by enlarging our desires, He may give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-does-not-delay-to-hear-our-prayers-because-he-has-no-mind-to-give/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God hath promised pardon to him that repenteth, but he hath not promised repentance to him that sinneth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-hath-promised-pardon-to-him-that-repenteth-but-he-hath-not/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [ And indeed we believe you \[God\] to be something than which a greater cannot be conceived. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/and-indeed-we-believe-you-god-to-be-something-than-which-a-greater/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Disasters teach us humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/disasters-teach-us-humility/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [I believe in order that I may understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/i-believe-in-order-that-i-may-understand/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Therefore Lord God, you are more truly omnipotent, because you have no power through impotence and nothing can be against you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/therefore-lord-god-you-are-more-truly-omnipotent-because-you-have-no/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe this: unless I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/for-i-do-not-seek-to-understand-in-order-to-believe-but-i-believe-in/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [O supreme and unapproachable light! O whole and blessed truth, how far art thou from me, who am so near to thee! How far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/o-supreme-and-unapproachable-light-o-whole-and-blessed-truth-how-far/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) [Explore all 26 Anselm Of Canterbury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) ## More Conceived quotes > [“When we were conceived, we were one egg and one sperm that inexplicably split into two little girls instead of one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-j-chambers/when-we-were-conceived-we-were-one-egg-and-one-sperm-that/) [V.J. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-j-chambers/) > [The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rise-of-capitalist-practice-and-morality-brought-with-it-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Only Christ could have conceived Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/only-christ-could-have-conceived-christ/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) > [“Our union with God is consummated when Christ is conceived within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-trimm/our-union-with-god-is-consummated-when-christ-is-conceived-within-us/) [Cindy Trimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-trimm/) > ['Lord of the Rings' was a set of books in which the world had been conceived before the characters were placed within that context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/lord-of-the-rings-was-a-set-of-books-in-which-the-world-had-been/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [He who is conceived in a cage yearns for the cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/he-who-is-conceived-in-a-cage-yearns-for-the-cage/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [“No, no, no! I am not giving birth backstage at a rock concert. I need to be in a hospital, pumped full of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-stephens/no-no-no-i-am-not-giving-birth-backstage-at-a-rock-concert-i-need-to/) [S.C. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-stephens/) > [“Somewhere, out in the infinite distance, lay the spring, at least in God's mind, like babies that are not yet conceived in the mother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/somewhere-out-in-the-infinite-distance-lay-the-spring-at-least-in-god/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [The electron can no longer be conceived as a single, small granule of electricity; it must be associated with a wave, and this wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-broglie/the-electron-can-no-longer-be-conceived-as-a-single-small-granule-of/) [Louis de Broglie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-broglie/) > [“Neither nations nor children should be conceived in public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-best/neither-nations-nor-children-should-be-conceived-in-public/) [James D. Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-best/) > [I was in a bookstore one afternoon, and I stumbled across this book called 'A Guide to Film Schools.' I always loved movies growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/i-was-in-a-bookstore-one-afternoon-and-i-stumbled-across-this-book/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [Free enterprise capitalism has been the most powerful creative system of social cooperation and human progress ever conceived, but its perception and its role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/free-enterprise-capitalism-has-been-the-most-powerful-creative-system/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/long-before-you-were-conceived-by-your-parents-you-were-conceived-in/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“Just as a child is conceived in a womb of a woman, miraculously, so is grace freely given by God, in sacred moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/just-as-a-child-is-conceived-in-a-womb-of-a-woman-miraculously-so-is/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > ['Funny Games' was conceived as a provocation. My other films are different. If people feel my other films are, or respond to them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/funny-games-was-conceived-as-a-provocation-my-other-films-are/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) Browse all 101 Conceived quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anselm Of Canterbury" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-exist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conceived" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-exist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_conceived_if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-ex_578144.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.” — Anselm Of Canterbury", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anselm Of Canterbury", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If it can be conceived at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-exist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-exist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```