PEDRO ABELARDO: BIOGRAPHY, THOUGHTS, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS - ARTE - 2024

Pedro Abelardo (1079-1142) was a French philosopher and theologian who sought to fragment the restricted medieval vision. Its purpose was to expose that man's freedom did not depend on conscience, but on knowledge.

Through his works he tried to show that individuals had the right to decide and act with agency, without being judged by religious doctrine. In this way, it is perceived that the hypothesis of this author focused on moral behavior.

Pedro Abelardo was a French philosopher and theologian. Source: Condé Museum

In turn, he expressed that morality was determined by the way in which each person materialized their thoughts. Unlike the intellectuals of the High Middle Ages who only based themselves on theories, Abelardo exposed the need to verify the theses.

Abelardo established that practice was as important as concepts; This notion was influenced by the conception of reality that emerged in the early 12th century. During this period, feudalism began to shift and the bourgeoisie occupied the center of society.

However, the urban organization was not the only thing that was changing; They also changed the ideas of some men who believed that all the inhabitants could progress through hard work. This fact announced the autonomy of being.

In addition, it stripped the church of its power, since this institution proclaimed that salvation was found in faith and in pure actions, those that distanced themselves from vice and sin. Within this changing context, Abelardo tried to establish a rational belief.

Biography

Pedro Abelardo was born in 1079 in the town of Le Pallet (a town that was located in Brittany 19 kilometers from Nantes). He was the eldest son of Lucía and Berengario Abelardo, aristocrats and owners of a part of the territory of eastern France.

Due to his wealthy life, from an early age he was able to study logic and dialectics in order to prepare for the military experience, which was one of his hereditary duties; but in the course of adolescence he noticed that he was passionate about scholarship and not weapons.

For this reason, he renounced his first-born rights and from that moment he dedicated himself to traveling. He toured different regions to exchange arguments with the philosophers who exercised the office of rhetoric. In 1093 he obtained a certificate in Arts in the province of Lonches.

From 1095 he was educated with Roscelino de Compiegne (1050-1120), a nominalist teacher who taught him that abstract names were mental manifestations, since the terms humanity, virtue and freedom lacked material representations.

According to Compiegne, such words were only sounds. Abelardo opposed this position and accused Roscelino of blasphemy for transmitting irrational ideas that violated God's dogma.

Academic training

When he was 20 years old, he settled in Paris, a city that was known as the circle of academics. He entered the Cathedral School in 1098, being his tutor Guillermo de Champeaux (1070-1121), who was a doctor who instructed him in the principles of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric.

Abelardo began a specialization in Arts in 1100, where he learned astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, and music. In 1102 he was awarded a Master's degree and he instantly criticized Champeaux's teaching method because he considered it exaggerated and unjustifiable.

In order to contradict Roscelino's hypothesis, Champeaux stated that each term had a specific form in the external world, which was designated by humanity. That thesis caused Abelardo to categorize him as an extreme realist.

In 1103 Pedro settled in Laon and asked Anselmo de Laudunense (1050-1117) to teach him a class in theology; but soon after he refuted the doctrine of the theologian who alluded that God was the force that unifies the universe.

Months later he returned to Paris in order to work in a school that would allow him to demonstrate the errors of the theories that were being disseminated.

Work experience

However, in Paris it did not obtain favorable results. For this reason, he left for Melun and then Corbeil, municipalities where he got numerous students. In fact, in 1108 he founded an institution on Santa Genoveva Hill.

In 1113 he acquired the position of professor of dialectics and rhetoric at the Cathedral School. In 1115 he was entrusted with the education of Eloísa, Fulbert's niece - canon of the Paris cathedral. Maiden with whom he had a clandestine affair until his son Astrolabe was born in 1119.

In order not to be discovered, Abelardo took the new family to his sister's home in Le Pallet and married Eloísa. This event was prohibited for the professors of the time; so Fulberto felt betrayed and transmitted the news of the marriage.

In addition, Fulbert hired two servants to mutilate Pedro. This event was condemned with the castration of the vassals and the exile of Fulbert. Abelard performed the robes to become a monk, while Heloisa received the vows to be a nun in the Argenteuil monastery.

Painting of Pedro Abelardo and his lover Eloísa. Source: Condé Museum

Return to pedagogy

In 1120 Pedro Abelardo moved to Provins, a commune in which he recovered his students; but in 1121 it was requested and questioned by the Council of Soissons due to the text On the unity and the divine trinity. Work where he reflected that there were three deities and not one.

The prosecution was planned by the disciples of Laudunense, Roscelino and Champeaux. However, when Abelardo arrived, they did not allow him to defend himself and the judges ordered him to burn his writing, and they also prevented him from teaching for some years.

After serving his sentence at the Abbey of Saint Médard, he returned to Saint Denis in 1123. A stay that he quickly abandoned because he conquered the enmity of the priests when he commented that the saint they praised was not the same as Dionisio Areopagita, supposed patron of the convent.

Days later he went to Troyes and his listeners followed him. For this reason, in 1124 he erected the school of the Paraclete, which was located near the temple of Bernardo de Claraval (1090-1153).

Accusations

The teachings that were issued in the Clairvaux institution objected to Abelard's ideals. This was because Bernardo's methodology was characterized by the severity of Christianity, it expressed that God transmitted the truth to the monks so that they could communicate it to men.

Instead, Pedro's hypothesis suggested that decisions were the responsibility of the individual and not of a higher entity. This testimony caused him to be declared a heretic. For this reason he chose to retire in 1128, being received in the monastery of Saint Gildas.

In this place he was appointed abbot, although certain religious have confessed that he assumed his position with despotism. In 1130 he built a convent in the Paraclete, space in which he placed Eloísa and gave her the nomination of abbess.

In 1132 he resigned from the work of regent and in 1139 he was again accused of sacrilege by the ecclesiastics of Rome.

Last years

This imputation was carried out by the evidence presented by Bernardo de Claraval and Guillermo de Saint Thierry (1085-1148). These theologians collected various heterodox ideas that were apparently exhibited in Abelard's works and sent them to the pope.

This denunciation caused Peter to petition for a council to be held, but the response of the synod of Sens was for him to retract his immoral arguments. For this reason he appealed to the Supreme Pontiff, although that authority had already signed the congress proposal.

The tender established that Abelardo could no longer express his knowledge in public spaces or academies. In 1141 he was taken to the monastery of Cluny; but he ended up taking refuge in the temple of Saint Marcel for health reasons, where he dedicated himself to writing.

He died in 1142 at the age of 63. In 1817 her remains were transported to the Parisian Pere Lachaise cemetery, where they were buried next to the body of Eloísa. Likewise, a monument of the philosopher designed with the ruins of the Paraclete was established.

Thought

It is difficult to incorporate Abelard's thought into a certain category, since it did not follow the foundations of extreme realism or nominalism. Still, he used the concepts raised in both philosophical movements to develop his own theory.

He did not consider abstract ideas to exist in external reality, but rather they were definitions found in the mind. In that sense, he stated that names were singular terms created by the understanding and did not have universal references.

That hypothesis laid the foundation for conceptualism to emanate. It should be noted that in some way Pedro's ideology was influenced by the Aristotelian dialectic, since he focused on logic as an academic and religious pillar.

Abelardo expressed that reason would give meaning to faith. He believed that people should understand the worship they preached. Through this judgment he contradicted mysticism, this current proposed to worship God through hope and contemplation.

Contributions to philosophy

Abelard's first contribution was to show that universal conceptions were coherent elements that united the physical world with the mental one. They were logical because they used language. That is, the words had to be understandable to people when pronouncing them.

Therefore the essential was not the object, but the meaning. He also described a kind of investigative procedure, where he explained that the doubt generated the inquiry. When individuals inquired, they could come across the truth.

With this he established the foundations for the scholastic method to develop; But before finding the truth, it was essential to understand the composition of the words, develop a critical examination of the sacred scriptures and interpret them without linking the author's opinion with the personal one.

In a certain way, this philosopher motivated the empirical study, since he showed that observation was vital to analyze the facts. Another contribution was:

About freedom

Following the Christian-Augustinian theory, Abelard stated that the freedom of humanity derived from its nature. The creator made the being in his image and likeness, that is why he gave him the faculty of reasoning.

By reasoning, people showed their virtues. In this way, it is appreciated that freedom was the right to think. The thoughts oriented towards good or evil and depended on the ethical self-determination of each individual.

Through this argument, Peter fostered the growth of subjectivity, since he suggested that ideas were not moral or sinful until they were executed.

Plays

In the course of his pedagogical journey, Abelardo wrote various works that stood out for having hybrid styles, since they were not part of a specific genre. He wrote on philosophy, theology, and music.

His objective was to portray some answers about the inconvenience of universal terms; He tried to relate rational positions with religious ones, explain the definitions of justice and injustice, and clarify that the concept of ethics did not only encompass the area of ​​conscience.

He also recorded his confessions on the parchment, where he recounted the mistakes he had made. He composed several symphonies of love for Heloise, six biblical laments and one hundred hymns of thanks for the Abbey of Argenteuil. Among the texts are:

- On unity and the divine trinity (1121).

- Letters from Abelard to Heloise (1133).

- Christian theology (1141).

- Know yourself: Ethics (1141).

- Dialogue between a philosopher, a Jew and a Christian, whose original edition date is still unknown; but in 1992 the first impression was spread.

Story of my misadventures

It is one of the most important books of the philosopher because many episodes of his life are known thanks to this publication. In this autobiography, the author addresses himself directly to the reader with the purpose of relating his calamities. It consists of 15 chapters and its prose is romantic.

Yes and no

In this treatise Abelardo exposed the reasons that led him to disagree with the ecclesiastical institution. He stated that the priests could not intervene in the thoughts of men because they violated the sacred will of God.

The manual contains 158 sections, where the advantages and disadvantages of faith are detailed. Although there are passages in the first person, generally the narration is impersonal. It is a didactic writing.

References

1. Castellanos, J. (2015). Logic and reason in Pedro Abelardo. Retrieved on November 18, 2019 from the University of Buenos Aires: uba.ar
2. Daza, R. (2017). Dialectic and practical reason in Pedro Abelardo: independence or intellectual labyrinth. Retrieved on November 18, 2019 from Revista de Filosofía y Letras: revistafyl.filos.unam.mx
3. Gilson, E. (2010). Abelard: treatise of logic and love life. Retrieved on November 20, 2019 from University of Cambridge: cam.ac.uk
4. Jolivet, P. (2014). Medieval metaphysics and the modern world. Retrieved on November 20, 2019 from the Department of History: history.stanford.edu
5. King, V. (2008). The rediscovery of Peter Abelard's philosophy. Retrieved on November 19, 2019 from John Hopkins University: jhu.edu
6. Palacios, G. (2006). Portrait of a philosopher: Who was Pedro Abelardo? Retrieved on November 19, 2019 from School of History: Proyectoshistoricos.ve
7. Raña, C. (2004). Freedom in Pedro Abelardo. Retrieved on November 18, 2019 from the Spanish Journal of Medieval Philosophy: uco.es
8. Tursi, A. (2002). Peter Abelard and the universals. Retrieved on November 19, 2019 from College of Arts and History: uoguelph.ca