Garson Kanin
American film and theatre director, playwright, screenwriter (1912-1999)
Peter Abelard
French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)
Peter Abelard was a brilliant medieval French scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to logic, theology, and ethics. He is best known for his passionate and tragic love affair with his student Hu00e9lou00efse, and his pioneering work on the concept of intent in ethics and the idea of the individual subject in law.
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About the Peter Abelard
Peter Abelardwas a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician.
In philosophy, he is celebrated for his logical solution to the problem of universals via nominalism and conceptualism and his pioneering of intent in ethics. Often referred to as the “Descartes of the twelfth century”, he is considered a forerunner of Rousseau, Kant, and Spinoza. He is sometimes credited as a chief forerunner of modern empiricism.
In history and popular culture, he is best known for his passionate and tragic love affair, and intense philosophical exchange, with his brilliant student and eventual wife, Heloise d’Argenteuil. He was a defender of women and of their education. After having sent Heloise to a convent in Brittany to protect her from her abusive uncle who did not want her to pursue this forbidden love, he was castrated by men sent by the uncle. Still considering herself as his spouse even though both retired to monasteries after this event, Heloise publicly defended him when his doctrine was condemned by Pope Innocent II and Abelard considered a heretic. Among these opinions, Abelard professed the innocence of a woman who commits a sin out of love.
In Catholic theology, he is best known for his development of the concept of limbo, and his introduction of the moral influence theory of atonement. He is consideredto be the most significant forerunner of the modern self-reflective autobiographer. He paved the way and set the tone for later epistolary novels and celebrity tell-alls with his publicly distributed letter, The History of My Calamities, and public correspondence.
In law, Abelard stressed that, because the subjective intention determines the moral value of human action, the legal consequence of an action is related to the person who commits it and not merely to the action. With this doctrine, Abelard created in the Middle Ages the idea of the individual subject central to modern law. This eventually gave to School of Notre-Dame de Parisa recognition for its expertise in the area of Law (and later led to the creation of a Faculty of Law of Paris).
Frequently Asked Questions
Peter Abelard was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer, and musician who lived from around 1079 to 1142.
Abelard is celebrated for his logical solution to the problem of universals via nominalism and conceptualism, and his pioneering work on the concept of intent in ethics. He is considered a forerunner of modern empiricism.
Abelard is best known for his passionate and tragic love affair with his brilliant student and eventual wife, Héloïse d’Argenteuil. Their relationship and the subsequent events led to Abelard’s castration.
Abelard was a defender of women and their education, which was a progressive stance for the time. His support for Héloïse’s intellectual pursuits contributed to his legacy as a champion of women’s rights.
In Catholic theology, Abelard is best known for his development of the concept of limbo and his introduction of the moral influence theory of atonement. He is considered a significant forerunner of modern self-reflective autobiography.
Abelard stressed that the subjective intention determines the moral value of human action, and that the legal consequence of an action is related to the person who commits it, not just the action itself. This helped establish the idea of the individual subject as central to modern law.
Abelard’s ideas on law and the role of the individual subject eventually led to the University of Paris gaining recognition for its expertise in the area of law, which later led to the creation of a dedicated Faculty of Law at the university.
2 Quotes by Peter Abelard
- 1.
It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth.
Peter AbelardFrench scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)
- 2.
The key to wisdom is this – constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.
Peter AbelardFrench scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician (c.1079-1142)