Abstract

Chapter III of Anselm's Proslogion is quite naturally interpreted as presenting a second version of the ontological argument. In recent discussions it has been so interpreted by Charles Hartshorne and by Norman Malcolm. Other writers, however, have rejected this interpretation, maintaining that Anselm intended Chapter Ill, not as a second proof of God's existence, but only as a demonstration that the kind of existence which God has is necessary existence. Perhaps the latter writers are correct on this exegetical point, but even so, it does not follow that there is anything improper about an inquiry into the character of the distinct, modal version of the ontological argument which can be derived from this passage.