Kalkas
New member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2021
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- Serbo-Croatian
- Home Country
- Serbia
- Current Location
- Norway
Hello,
I am a little bit confused by the use of “than” in these sentences (which are from Anselm’s famous ontological argument):
1) ”A being than which nothing greater can be conceived is ….”
2) “Something exists in the understanding than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
3) ”If that than which nothing greater can be conceived exists in the understanding alone, the very being than which nothing greater can be conceived is one than which a greater can be conceived.”
I understand that we usually use “than” when we compare things (as in “he is older than her”) or to use as the expression of preference (as in “rather than”). But here in this context, I cannot completely grasp how it is used here. I struggle with the first sentence, and it seems that the use of “than” in the first is the same as in other two sentences.
Is something compared in the 1st sentence? Could it be rewritten as follows: “A being that is such that nothing greater can be conceived than itself”? Is the use of “than” in this context unusual? The thing which confuses me is that I expect some adjective before “than” in the context of comparison (as in “older than”). But the adjective “greater” is after “than.”
Best regards,
Kalkas
I am a little bit confused by the use of “than” in these sentences (which are from Anselm’s famous ontological argument):
1) ”A being than which nothing greater can be conceived is ….”
2) “Something exists in the understanding than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
3) ”If that than which nothing greater can be conceived exists in the understanding alone, the very being than which nothing greater can be conceived is one than which a greater can be conceived.”
I understand that we usually use “than” when we compare things (as in “he is older than her”) or to use as the expression of preference (as in “rather than”). But here in this context, I cannot completely grasp how it is used here. I struggle with the first sentence, and it seems that the use of “than” in the first is the same as in other two sentences.
Is something compared in the 1st sentence? Could it be rewritten as follows: “A being that is such that nothing greater can be conceived than itself”? Is the use of “than” in this context unusual? The thing which confuses me is that I expect some adjective before “than” in the context of comparison (as in “older than”). But the adjective “greater” is after “than.”
Best regards,
Kalkas
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