Anselm of Canterbury, senses, truth, God

The paper aims to analyse and evaluate the character and role of sense perception in the works of Anselm of Canterbury written during the relatively short period of the 1070s and 1080s, namely the Monologion, the Proslogion (including the responses to the objections raised by monk Gaunilo), and De veritate. First, attention is devoted to sense perception in God ? whether God possesses this kind of knowledge and whether God can be said to have sensually perceivable characteristics. The subsequent parts examine sense perception in the context of human knowledge on two levels: 1. human sensory knowledge and its role in understanding God (i.e., whether the senses are useful in any way in the struggle to fi nd God) and 2. sensory knowledge and its truthfulness (including sensory illusions). Lastly, an attempt is made to explain why Anselm paid such little attention to sensory perception, even though it seems, according to the analysed texts, that the senses played an important and irreplaceable role in his noetic endeavour.