Petar Abelard

Peter Abelard (Latin: Petrus Abaelardus, French: Pierre Abélard or Pierre Abailard ; Le Pallet near Nantes, 1079 - St. Marcel, 21 April 1142), French philosopher and theologian.

Resume

He was born in the family of a small nobleman. Instead of a military career, he chose to study, which is why he comes to Paris, where he quickly clashes with the influential teacher Will from Champeaux. Due to the conflict, he was forced to leave Paris, but his reputation as a great lecturer followed him and he gave lectures in Corbeil and Melun. Success prompted him to return to Paris, but due to renewed conflict with Vilim, he returns to Melun. Nevertheless, after William's retirement, Abelard takes over his position as the supreme philosophical authority in Paris. His career came to an abrupt end in 1118 due to his love affair with Heloise, the daughter of Canon Fulbert. The relationship was a scandal that caused Abelard to be castrated, and both were imprisoned in a monastery. Heloise gave birth to a son Astrolabe there. Although publicly disgraced, Abelard soon returned to public life, and after a conflict with church authorities in 1122, he founded a monastery that he dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. He described the problems of the transition years in the work History of Troubles, which is a classic example of a medieval autobiography with a moral message.

Philosophy

He was a French philosopher of Christian scholasticism (the mature phase of medieval philosophy, after the patristic period). Until the advent of the Renaissance, the European intellectual scene was within the framework of theological, scholastic canons within which there was not much room for stronger innovations. However, in these same frameworks, a sharp discussion took place in which Abelard was on the level of Thomas Aquinas or Roscelin. Abelard worked a lot on the problem of universals and it is not easy to classify him as either a realist or a nominalist. He is therefore usually considered a member of the "nominalist-conceptual" wing. The general, according to him, is neither a mere word nor a transcendent reality, but a concept in the human mind. Thus, Abelard considered that the word is not expressed as an event but as a meaning. In his opinion, Abelard is related to the aforementioned Roscelini and Guanilo. He was condemned for his actions (at the Council of Soisson in 1121 and at the Council of Sens in 1141).

His famous sic et non is a key medieval method of sophisticated reference to authorities, which seeks to remove apparent differences between them and make their hierarchy the basis of comparison.

Works

• De unitate et trinitate divina
• Theologia Christiana
• Sic et non
• Ethica seu Scito te ipsum
• Historia calamitatum
• Dialogus inter Judaeum
• Philosophum et Christianum