Anselm defines God as the greatest possible object of thought.

Evidence

As he put it, the argument is as follows: We define ‘God’ as the greatest possible object of thought. Now if an object of thought does not exist, another, exactly like it, which does exist, is greater. Therefore the greatest of all objects of thought must exist, since, otherwise, another, still greater, would be possible. Therefore God exists. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1601

Categorization

• DEFINE: DEFINE
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1601
• XREF: connects to: Spinoza posits that God or Nature is the sole substance with infinite attributes. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2091; The Franciscan tradition distinguished the God of philosophers from the God of Christianity; Living properly means seeking ever-greater likeness to God (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Spinoza posits that God or Nature is the sole substance with infinite attributes. #expands (0.60) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2091