Fides quaerens intellectum

Fides quaerens intellectum, means "faith seeking understanding" or "faith seeking intelligence", is a Latin sentence by Anselm of Canterbury, which had been the first title for his Proslogion (I). ^[1] It articulates the close relationship between faith and human reason.

Anselm states: "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam " ^[2] ("I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand").

The sentence represents the theological method stressed by Augustine (354–430) and Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 – 1109), in which one begins with faith in God and on the basis of that faith moves on to further understanding of Christian truth ^[3] or faith: intellectus fidei. ^[4]

See also

• Christianity portal

• Credo ut intelligam
• Fides et ratio
• Rational fideism

References

1. Robert Theis: Das Proslogion des Anselm von Canterbury und die Frage nach der Erkennbarkeit Gottes
2. "ANSELMUS CANTUARIENSIS | PROSLOGION". www.thelatinlibrary.com (in Latin). Retrieved 2023-05-16.
3. Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 104.
4. "Mission Statement". dg-ktf.univie.ac.at. Retrieved 2025-12-04.

Further reading

• Karl Barth  : « Fides quaerens intellectum » ; La preuve de l'existence de Dieu d'après Anselme de Cantorbéry, Delachaux et Niestlé (Bibliothèque de Théologie), Neuchâtel et Paris, 1958, 160 p. (cours donné à Bâle, en allemand en 1930).
• Marilyn McCord Adams : « Fides Quaerens Intellectum »; St. Anselm’s Method In Philosophical Theology, dans Faith and Philosophy, vol. 9 (1992), No. 4.
• Julien Bayart : The Concept of Mystery According to St. Anselm of Canterbury, dans Recherches de Théologie ancienne et médiévale, vol. 9 (1937).
• Michel Corbin : La significations de l’unum argumentum du Proslogion, dans Anselm Studies, vol. 2 (1988).
• Étienne Gilson  : Sens et nature de l’argument de saint Anselme, dans Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Age, vol. 9 (1934).
• Alvin Plantinga  : The Ontological Argument, from St. Anselm to Contemporary Philosophers, Garden City, New York, Anchor Books, 1965.
• Katherine Rogers : Can Christianity be Proven? Saint Anselm on Faith and Reason, dans Anselm Studies, vol. 2 (1998).