--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is possible to conceive, Anselm said…" description: "\"“It is possible to conceive, Anselm said, of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived. Even an atheist can conceive of such a superlative be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/richard-dawkins-115_anselm_it-is-possible-to-conceive-anselm-said-o_1117117.jpg" --- # It is possible to conceive, Anselm said, of a being than… ![“It is possible to conceive, Anselm said, of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived. Even an atheist can conceive of such a superlative being, though he would deny its existence in the real world. But, goes the argument, a being that doesn't exist in the real world is, by that very…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/richard-dawkins-115_anselm_it-is-possible-to-conceive-anselm-said-o_1117117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/richard-dawkins-115_anselm_it-is-possible-to-conceive-anselm-said-o_1117117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/richard-dawkins-115_anselm_it-is-possible-to-conceive-anselm-said-o_1117117.jpg) > ““It is possible to conceive, Anselm said, of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived. Even an atheist can conceive of such a superlative being, though he would deny its existence in the real world. But, goes the argument, a being that doesn't exist in the real world is, by that very fact, less than perfect. Therefore we have a contradiction and, hey presto, God exists!”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An argument that defining God as the greatest conceivable being leads to a logical contradiction, implying God's non‑existence **In simple terms:** Defining God as the greatest possible being creates a paradox Key Takeaway Question definitions that lead to contradictions Themes philosophy theology logic Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - Debates on existence - philosophical essays - academic discussions Key Concepts ontological argument paradox atheism Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie the argument? - Can alternative definitions resolve the paradox? A Different Perspective Relies on specific definitions that may be contested ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-can-see-how-it-might-be-possible-for-a-man-to-look-down-upon-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“And what we say - that what He willeth is right and what He doth not not will is wrong, is not so to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-what-we-say-that-what-he-willeth-is-right-and-what-he-doth-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes, Anselm – and especially with the most important parts of our lives – we cannot share who we are. We can give the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-brodrick/sometimes-anselm-and-especially-with-the-most-important-parts-of-our/) William Brodrick > [Hence our verdict on these reformulated versions of St. Anselm's argument must be as follows. 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It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-whether-god-exists-i-don-t/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/most-witches-don-t-believe-in-gods-they-know-that-the-gods-exist-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If you burn yourself out in two years of intense selfless giving, what good is that if you could have given 20 years? Set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-burn-yourself-out-in-two-years-of-intense-selfless-giving-what/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Quotes By Transcendologist Kurt Kawohl 1941 - If the medieval practices and the medieval beliefs of Christianity, Judaism and Islam that are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-kawohl/quotes-by-transcendologist-kurt-kawohl-1941-if-the-medieval-practices/) Kurt Kawohl ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. 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They cannot, perhaps, be said to prove or establish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-plantinga/hence-our-verdict-on-these-reformulated-versions-of-st-anselm-s/) [Alvin Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-plantinga/) > [“Sometimes, Anselm – and especially with the most important parts of our lives – we cannot share who we are. We can give the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-brodrick/sometimes-anselm-and-especially-with-the-most-important-parts-of-our/) William Brodrick Browse all 5 Anselm quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is possible to conceive, Anselm said, of a being than which nothing greater can be conceived. Even an atheist can conceive of such a superlative being, though he would deny its existence in the real world. But, goes the argument, a being that doesn't exist in the real world is, by that very fact, less than perfect. 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