The concept of «intelligere» in the process of knowledge of God by Anselm of Canterbury and Karl Barth

The knowledge of God is the key task of a Christian in the theological legacy of Anselm of Canterbury. The ambiguous term «intelligere», filled with deep semantic content, which in this article we will translate with the word «to understand», is repeatedly found in the works of the medieval theologian. Its significance for understanding the thought of Saint Anselm is also important because, forming a large number of single-root terminones, intelligere is found in the works of Anselm in many variations, such as: intellectus fidei, credo ut intelligam, etc. In this article, we will consider both medieval versions of the understanding of this concept, which is certainly important for scholastic theologians, and the place and meaning of «intelligere» in the writings of Anselm of Canterbury himself.

In the early works of the Protestant theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Barth, the knowledge of God is not one of the key theological issues. Moreover, according to Barth, knowledge of God is practically impossible in general due to the infinite remoteness of the Creator from creation. However, turning to the legacy of Anselm, Barth softens his rather radical theological position, expanding the boundaries of what a person can know and say about God. Interpreting the famous ontological proof of the existence of God, Karl Barth consistently examines and interprets all the key to understanding «Proslogion» terms, one of which is «intelligere».

In this article, we will proceed from the fact that «intelligere» as a concept is one of the fundamental concepts for understanding the theological legacy of Anselm of Canterbury. It is considered on an equal basis and paired with credere (to believe), forming a dichotomy of understanding/believing that permeates all of Anselm’s work. Consistently «deploying» the ontological argument of the «Proslogion», Karl Barth analyzes its concept by concept, paying special attention to the concept of «intelligere». His interpretation of Anselm’s argument ultimately proves decisive for his own theological thought: the process of God-knowledge in Barth’s theology is made possible by the Protestant theologian’s appeal to Anselm’s legacy.

1. Барт 2006 – Барт. К. Введение в евангелическую теологию. М.: Центр «Нарния», 2006. 192 с.

2. Неретина 2008 – Неретина С.С. Аргумент, нуждающийся для своего обоснования только в себе // Голос/Vox. 2008. Вып. 4. С. 1–34.

3. Пылаев 2016 – Пылаев М.А. Философия и теология в «неоортодоксии» Карла Барта // Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Богословие. Философия. Религиоведение. 2016. Вып. 6 (68). С. 26–40.

4. Barth 1958 – Barth K. Fides quaerens intellectum: Anselms Beweis der Existenz Gottes im Zusammenhang seines theologischen Programms. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag Zürich, 1958. 160 S.

5. Coleman 1992 – Coleman J. Ancient and Medieval memories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 668 p.

6. Ferrara 1971 – Ferrara T.N. The role of reason or the meaning of “intelligere” in the works of Anselm of Canterbury: Ph. D. Thesis. N.Y.: Fordham University, 1971. URL: (https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI7126968/ (дата обращения: 15.07.2024).

7. Holder 2001 – Holder R. Karl Barth and the legitimacy of natural theology // Themelios. 2001. Vol. 26. No. 3. P. 22–38.

8. Nolan 2010 – Nolan C. Ratio, intelligere, and cogitare in Anselm’s ontological argument // Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. 2010. Vol. 83. P. 199–208.

9. Barth, K. (1958), Fides quaerens intellectum: Anselms Beweis der Existenz Gottes im Zusammenhang seines theologischen Programms, Theologischer Verlag Zürich, Zürich, Germany.

10. Barth, K. (2006), Vvedenie v evangelicheskuyu teologiyu [Introduction to Evangelical theology], Tsentr «Narniya», Moscow, Russia.

11. Coleman, J. (1992), Ancient and Medieval memories, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

12. Ferrara, T.N. (1971), The role of reason or the meaning of “intelligere” in the works of Anselm of Canterbury, Ph. D. Thesis, Fordham University, New York, USA, available at: https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI7126968/ (Accessed 15 July 2024).

13. Holder, R. (2001), “Karl Barth and the legitimacy of natural theology”, Themelios, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 22–38.

14. Neretina, S.S. (2008), Argument, nuzhdayushchiisya dlya svoego obosnovaniya tol’ko v sebe [The argument that needs only itself for its verification], Golos/ Vox, no. 4, pp. 1–37.

15. Nolan, C. (2010), “Ratio, intelligere, and cogitare in Anselm’s ontological argument”t, Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, vol. 83, pp. 199–208. Pylaev, M.A. (2016), “Philosophy and theology in Karl Barth’s neo-Ortodoxy”, Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Svyato-Tikhonovskogo gumanitarnogo universiteta: Bogoslovie. Filosofiya. Religiovedenie, vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 26–40.