Abelard philosophy. Abelard pierre - philosophy - paths to truth. Accusation of heresy

Pierre (Peter) Abelard (French Pierre Abélard / Abailard, lat.Petrus Abaelardus; 1079, Le Palais, near Nantes - April 21, 1142, Saint-Marseille Abbey, near Chalon-sur-Saone, Burgundy) - medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian, poet and musician. The Catholic Church has repeatedly condemned Abelard for heretical views.

The son of Lucy du Palais (before 1065 - after 1129) and Berenguer N (before 1053 - until 1129), Pierre Abelard was born in the village of Palais near Nantes, in the province of Brittany, into a knightly family. Initially intended for military service, but an irresistible curiosity and especially the desire for scholastic dialectics prompted him to devote himself to the study of sciences. He also renounced the right of entitlement and became a cleric scholar. At a young age, he listened to lectures by John Roszelin, the founder of nominalism. In 1099 he arrived in Paris to study with the representative of realism - Guillaume de Champeau, who attracted listeners from all over Europe.

However, he soon became a rival and opponent of his teacher: from 1102, Abelard himself taught in Melun, Corbel and Saint-Genevieve, and the number of his students increased more and more. As a result, he acquired an implacable enemy in the person of Guillaume of Champeau. After the latter was elevated to the rank of bishop of Shalon, Abelard in 1113 took over the management of the school at the Church of Our Lady, and at this time reached the climax of his glory. He was the teacher of many later famous people, of whom the most famous are: Pope Celestine II, Peter of Lombard and Arnold of Brescia.

Thanks to Fulbert, Abelard became Eloise's teacher and family man, and both lovers enjoyed complete happiness until Fulbert found out about this connection. The latter's attempt to separate the lovers led to the fact that Abelard transported Héloise to Brittany, to her father's house in Palais. There she gave birth to a son, Pierre Astrolabe (1118-circa 1157) and, although she did not want to, she secretly married. Fulbert agreed in advance. Soon, however, Eloise returned to her uncle's house and refused to marry, not wanting to prevent Abelard from receiving clergy titles. Fulbert, out of revenge, ordered the emasculation of Abelard, so that in this way, according to canonical laws, his path to high church positions was barred. After that, Abelard retired as a simple monk to a monastery in Saint-Denis, and 18-year-old Eloise took her tonsure in Argenteuil. Later, thanks to Peter the Venerable, their son Pierre Astrolabe, raised by his father's younger sister Denise, received the post of canon in Nantes.

Dissatisfied with the monastic order, Abelard, on the advice of his friends, resumed lecturing at the Maisonville Priory; but the enemies again began to institute persecution against him. His work "Introductio in theologiam" was burned in 1121 at the cathedral in Soissons, and he himself was condemned to imprisonment in the monastery of St. Medarda. Having hardly received permission to live outside the monastery walls, Abelard left Saint-Denis.

On the contrary, Abelard proved and forced Guillaume of Champeau to agree that the same essence does not apply to each individual person in all its essential (infinite) volume, but only individually, of course (“inesse singulis individuis candem rem non essentialiter, sed individualiter tantum "). Thus, in the teachings of Abelard there was already a reconciliation of the two great opposites between themselves, the finite and the infinite, and therefore he was rightly called the forerunner of Spinoza. But all the same, the place occupied by Abelard in relation to the doctrine of ideas remains a controversial issue, since Abelard in his experience acted as a mediator between Platonism and Aristotelianism, speaks out very vaguely and shakily.

Most scholars consider Abelard a representative of conceptualism. Abelard's religious teaching was that God gave man all the strength to achieve good goals, and therefore the mind to keep the imagination within the limits and guide religious belief. Faith, he said, rests unshakably only on conviction achieved through free thinking; and therefore faith acquired without the assistance of mental strength and accepted without independent verification is unworthy of a free person.

Abelard argued that the only sources of truth are dialectics and Scripture. In his opinion, even the apostles and fathers of the Church could be mistaken. This meant that any official church dogma that was not based on the Bible could, in principle, be false. Abelard, as the Philosophical Encyclopedia notes, asserted the rights of free thought, because thinking was declared the norm of truth, which not only makes the content of faith understandable to reason, but in doubtful cases comes to an independent decision. highly appreciated this aspect of his work: "For Abelard, the main thing is not the theory itself, but the resistance to the authority of the church. Not" to believe in order to understand ", as in Anselm of Canterbury, but" to understand in order to believe "; the ever-renewing struggle against blind faith."

The main work "Yes and no" ("Sic et non"), shows the contradictory judgments of the authorities of the church. He laid the foundation for dialectical scholasticism.

Abelard became a hermit in Nogent-sur-Seine and in 1125 built himself a chapel and cell in Nogent on the Seine, named Paraclete, where he settled after his appointment as abbot in Saint-Gildas-de-Rue in Brittany, Héloise and her pious sisters in monasticism. Freed at last by the pope from the monks' intrigues of managing the monastery, Abelard devoted the present time of calm to revising all his writings and teaching at Mont Saint-Genevieve. His opponents, with Bernard of Clairvaux and Norbert of Xanten at the head, finally achieved that in 1141 at the council in Sansa his teaching was condemned and this sentence was approved by the Pope with the order to subject Abelard to imprisonment. However, the abbot of Cluny, the Monk Peter the Venerable, managed to reconcile Abelard with his enemies and with the papal throne.

Abelard withdrew to Cluny, where he died at the monastery of Saint-Marseille-sur-Saone in 1142 at Jacques-Marin.

Abelard's body was transported to the Paraclete and then buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Next to him was then buried his beloved Eloise, who died in 1164.

The life story of Abelard is described in his autobiography Historia Calamitatum (History of my troubles).

Introduction

The development of atheistic thought in the Renaissance was greatly hampered by the dominant religious beliefs in the Middle Ages, which influenced the worldview of people for millennia. As Anatole France rightly noted, during this period "the happy unanimity of the flock was undoubtedly also facilitated by the habit ... to immediately burn any dissenter." But even this could not completely suppress the thoughts that arise in people of modern times, people of the Renaissance.

It was Pierre Abelard who was the largest representative of medieval freethinking. A French philosopher, he was not afraid to declare that all religious ideas are either an empty phrase, or they have a certain meaning, accessible to the understanding of the human mind. That is, the truths of religion are controlled by reason. "One who, without understanding, is recklessly satisfied with what is said to him, without weighing it, not knowing how solid the evidence in favor of what is being reported, believes rashly." Proclaiming the highest authority of reason, urging not to take anything on faith, Abelard did not stop before declaring: "You do not believe because God said so, but because you are convinced that it is so."

Abelard's views objectively undermined the foundations of religion and this caused a storm of indignation among the clergy. The consequence of this was that in 1121 the council at Soissons declared Abelard's views heretical, forced him to publicly burn his treatise, and then imprisoned him in a monastery.

At the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, free-thinking begins to make its way in Italy. So in the XII century. in Florence, a number of scholars spoke out who put forward epicurean, materialistic and anti-religious ideas. But it was Pierre Abelard who was the ancestor of free-thinking, and therefore, his biography and philosophical views should be considered in more detail.

1. Biography of Pierre Abelard

Pierre Palais Abelard - French philosopher, theologian, poet, famous scholastic - was born in 1079 in the village of Palais near Nantes, in the province of Brittany, into a noble knightly family. Initially, the boy was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps and was intended for military service, curiosity and the desire to learn something else and study the unknown prompted him to devote himself to the study of sciences. Choosing a career as a scientist, Pierre gave up the rights of the eldest son in favor of the younger brother.

In search of new knowledge in 1099, Pierre Abelard arrived in Paris, where at that time the representative of realism - Guillaume de Champeau attracted listeners from all over the world, and became his student. But soon the deepening into realism leads to the fact that he becomes a rival and opponent of his teacher. and later decided to open his own school.

From 1102 Abelard taught at Melun, Corbel and Saint-Genevieve, and the number of his students grew more and more than he acquired an implacable enemy in the person of Guillaume of Champeau.

In 1113 he took over the management of the school at the Church of the Mother of God and at this time reached the climax of his glory. Abelard was the universally recognized head of dialecticians, and in his clarity and beauty of his presentation surpassed other teachers in Paris, the then focus of philosophy and theology. He was the teacher of many later famous people, of whom the most famous are: Pope Celestine II, Peter of Lombard and Arnold of Brescia.

In 1118 he was invited as a teacher to a private home, where he became the lover of his student Eloise. Abelard transported Héloise to Brittany, where she gave birth to a son. She then returned to Paris and married Abelard. This event was supposed to remain a secret. Fulbert, grandfather's guardian, began to talk everywhere about the marriage, and Abelard again took Eloise to the convent of Argenteuil. Fulbert decided that Abelard forcibly tonsured Héloise into a nun and, having bribed hired people, ordered Abelard to be emasculated. After that Abelard retired as a simple monk to a monastery in Saint-Denis.

A church council convened in 1121 in Soissons condemned Abelard's views as heretical and forced him to publicly burn his theological treatise Introductio in theologiam. Abelard became a hermit in Nogent-sur-Seine and in 1125 built himself a chapel and cell in Nogent on the Seine, named Paraclete, where he settled after his appointment as abbot in Saint-Gildas-de-Rue in Brittany, Héloise and her pious sisters in monasticism. In 1126 he received word from Brittany that he had been elected abbot of the monastery of St. Gildazi.

A significant role in the special popularity of Abelard was played by the book "The Story of My Disasters". The most famous among the schoolchildren and masters of "liberal arts" at this time enjoyed such works of Abelard as "Dialectics", "Introduction to Theology", the treatise "Know thyself" and "Yes and No".

In 1141, at the council in Sansa, Abelard's teachings were condemned and this sentence was approved by the Pope with the order to subject him to imprisonment. Sick and bruised, the philosopher retires to the Cluny monastery. Abelard died on 21 April 1142 at the monastery of Saint-Marseille-sur-Saone in Jacques-Marina. Eloise transported Abelard's ashes to the Paraclete and buried him there.

2. Contribution of Pierre Abelard to philosophy and science in general

Pierre Abelard occupied a special position in the confrontation between realism and nominalism, which was the dominant doctrine in philosophy and religion. He denied the nominalist position that universals constitute a universal reality and that this reality is reflected in every individual being, but he also denied the realist principle that universals are mere names and abstractions. On the contrary, in the course of the discussions, Abelard managed to convince the representative of the realists Guillaume of Champeau that one and the same essence approaches each individual person not in its entire existence (infinite volume), but only of course, individually. Thus, Abelard's doctrine is a combination of two opposites: realism and nominalism, finite and infinite. Abelard's ideas, expressed very shaky and vaguely, are intermediaries between the ideas of Aristotle and the teachings of Plato, therefore Abelard's place in relation to the doctrine of ideas remains a controversial issue today.

A number of scientists consider Abelard a representative of conceptualism - a teaching according to which knowledge manifests itself along with experience, but does not proceed from experience. In addition to philosophy, Abelard developed ideas in the field of religion. His teaching was that God gave man the strength to achieve good goals, to keep the play of his imagination and religious belief. He believed that faith is unshakable based on conviction, which was achieved through free thinking, which is why faith, accepted without verification without the assistance of mental strength, is unworthy of a free person.

The only source of truth, according to Abelard's ideas, is dialectics and Scripture. He was of the opinion that even the ministers of the church can be mistaken, and any official dogma of the church will be false if it is not based on the Bible.

Pierre Abelard's ideas were expressed in his numerous works: Dialectics, Christian Theology, Yes and No, Know Yourself, Introduction to Theology, etc. Abelard's works were sharply criticized by the Church, but they did not provoke a reaction the very theoretical views of Abelard, set forth in these works. Abelard's own attitude to God was not particularly original. Neoplatonic thoughts, in which Abelard explains God the Son and the Holy Spirit only as attributes of God the Father, making him omnipotent, are presented only in the interpretation of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit appeared to him as a kind of world soul, and God the Son is an expression of the omnipotence of God the Father. It was this concept that was condemned by the Church and accused of being Arian. And yet, the main thing that was condemned in the works of the scientist was different. Pierre Abelard was a sincere believer, but at the same time he doubted the proof of the existence of the Christian doctrine. Despite believing that Christianity is true, he doubted existing dogma. Abelard believed that it is contradictory, unproven, and does not provide an opportunity for a complete knowledge of God. Talking about his teachers, with whom he had constant disputes, Abelard said: "if someone came to him in order to resolve some bewilderment, then left him with even greater bewilderment."

Abelard strove to see for himself and show others all the inconsistencies and contradictions present in the text of the Bible, in the writings of the Church Fathers and in the works of other theologians.

Doubt about the proof of the basic tenets of the Church was the main reason for the condemnation of Abelard's works. Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the judges of Abelard, wrote on this occasion: "The faith of the simple is ridiculed, questions concerning the highest are recklessly discussed, the fathers are reproached for what they considered it necessary to keep silent about these issues rather than to try to resolve them." Later, he makes more specific claims against Abelard: “With the help of his philosophies, he tries to investigate what the pious mind perceives through living faith. The faith of the godly believes, not reason. But this man, being suspicious of God, agrees to believe only what he previously investigated with the help of reason. "

From these positions, Abelard can be considered the founder of the rationalized philosophy that emerged in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. For him, there was not and could not be any other force capable of creating a true Christian teaching, except for science, in which in the first place he put philosophy based on the logical abilities of man.

Abelard considered the highest, the Divine, to be the basis of logic. In his reasoning about the origin of logic, he relied on the fact that Jesus Christ calls God the Father "Logos", as well as on the first lines of the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word," where the "Word" in translation into Greek sounds like "Logos" ... Abelard expressed the opinion that logic was given to people for their enlightenment, for finding "the light of true wisdom." Logic is designed to make people “both true philosophers and sincerely believing Christians.

Dialectics plays an important role in Abelard's teachings. It was dialectics that he considered the highest form of logical thinking. With the help of dialectics, one can not only reveal all the contradictions of Christianity, but also eliminate them, build a new consistent teaching based on evidence. Abelard attempted to prove that Scripture must be taken critically. His work "Yes and No" is a vivid example of a critical attitude to the main dogmas of Christianity.

Scientific cognition is possible only when the subject of cognition lends itself to critical analysis, when all its contradictory sides are revealed and, with the help of logic, explanations of this contradiction and ways to eliminate it are found. If all the principles of a scientific name are called methodology, then Pierre Abelard can be called the founder of the methodology of scientific knowledge in Western Europe, which is his most significant contribution to the development of medieval science.

In his philosophical reflections, Abelard has always adhered to the principle of "know yourself." Cognition is possible only with the help of science and philosophy. In his Introduction to Theology, Abelard gives a clear definition of the concept of faith. In his opinion, this is an "assumption" about things that are inaccessible to human feelings. Moreover, Abelard concludes that even ancient philosophers came to the majority of Christian truths only thanks to science and philosophy.

Pierre Abelard very rationally interpreted the idea of the sinfulness of people and Christ as the redeemer of these sins. He believed that the mission of Christ was not to atone for human sins by his suffering, but that he showed an example of a true life, an example of rational and moral behavior. Sin, according to Abelard, is an act committed contrary to reasonable beliefs. The source of such actions is the human mind and human consciousness.

Abelard's doctrine of the ethical contains the idea that moral and moral behavior is a consequence of reason. In turn, the rational convictions of a person are embedded in the consciousness of God. From these positions, Abelard considers ethics to be a practical science and calls it "the goal of all sciences", so any doctrine, in the end, must find its expression in moral behavior.

The works of Pierre Abelard had a significant impact on the development of medieval science in Western Europe, although for Abelard himself they became the causes of many disasters in life. His teachings became widespread and led to the fact that in the XIII the Catholic Church came to the conclusion that the scientific foundation of Christian dogma is inevitable and necessary. But this work was already occupied by Thomas Aquinas.

3. Literary creativity

Of particular interest for the history of literature are the tragic love story of Abelard and Heloise, as well as their correspondence.

The images of Abelard and Heloise, whose love turned out to be stronger than separation and tonsure, more than once attracted writers and poets. Their history has been described in such works as Ballade des dames du temps jadis (Ballade des dames du temps jadis) by Villon; "La fumée d opium " Farrera; Eloisa to Abelard by Pope; The title of Rousseau's novel "Julia, or New Eloise" also contains a hint of the history of Abelard and Heloise.

In addition, Abelard is the author of six extensive lamentable poems (planctus), which are paraphrases of biblical texts and many lyric hymns. He is probably also the author of sequences, including the very popular "Mittit ad Virginem" in the Middle Ages. All these genres were text-musical, and the poems involved chanting. Almost certainly Abelard himself wrote the music for his poems, or made counterfeits of the then well-known melodies. Almost nothing has survived from his musical compositions, and few crying defies deciphering. Of the notated hymns of Abelard, only one has survived - "O quanta qualia".

"Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew and a Christian" is Abelard's last unfinished work. The Dialogue provides an analysis of three ways of reflection that have ethics as a common basis.

Conclusion

Due to the influence of time and the views existing during the Middle Ages, Pierre Abelard could not completely abandon the principles of the Catholic faith, and nevertheless, his works, in which he advocated the predominance of reason over faith, for the revival of ancient culture; his fight against the Roman Catholic Church and its ministers; his active work as a mentor and teacher - all this allows Abelard to be recognized as the most outstanding and brilliant representative of medieval philosophy.

V.G. Belinsky in his work "The General Meaning of the Word Literature" described Pierre Abelard as follows: "... even in the Middle Ages there were great people who were strong in thought and ahead of their time; so, France still had Abelard in the XII century; but people like him fruitlessly threw bright lightning flashes of powerful thoughts into the darkness of their time: they were understood and appreciated several centuries after their death. "

List of sources

abelard realism love artwork

1.Gaidenko V.P., Smirnov G.A. Western European Science in the Middle Ages. - M .: Nauka, 1989.

2.Gausrat A. Medieval reformers: Pierre Abelard, Arnold Breshiansky / Per. with him. - 2nd ed., M .: Librokom, 2012 .-- 392 p. - (Academy of Basic Research: history).

.Losev A.F. The origin of the nominalistic dialectic of the Middle Ages: Erigena and Abelard // Historical and Philosophical Yearbook 88. - M., 1988. - pp. 57-71

The fact is that Abelard, being a sincerely believing Christian, nevertheless doubted the proof of the Christian doctrine. He did not doubt the truth of Christianity itself, however, he saw that the existing Christian dogma is so contradictory, so unproven that it does not stand up to criticism and therefore does not provide an opportunity for a complete knowledge of God.

It was precisely the doubt about the validity of the dogmas that was the main reason for the condemnation of Abelard.

Pierre Abelard can be considered the ancestor of the most rationalized philosophy of the entire Western European Middle Ages, because for him there was no other force capable of creating a true Christian teaching, except for science, and, above all, a philosophy based on the logical abilities of man.

Abelard calls dialectics the highest form of logical thinking. In his opinion, with the help of dialectical thinking, it is possible, on the one hand, to discover all the contradictions of Christian teaching, and on the other hand, to eliminate these contradictions, to develop a consistent and evidence-based doctrine.

And the basic principle of his philosophical quest was formulated in the same rationalistic spirit - "Know thyself." Human consciousness, human mind are the source of all human actions. Even moral principles, which were considered to be Divine, Abelard takes a rationalistic attitude. For example, a sin is an act committed by a person contrary to his rational beliefs. Abelard in general rationally interpreted the Christian idea of the original sinfulness of people and the mission of Christ as the redeemer of this sinfulness. In his opinion, the main meaning of Christ was not that by his sufferings he removed mankind's sinfulness, but that Christ, with his rational moral behavior, showed people an example of true life.

In general, in the ethical teaching of Abelard, the idea is constantly held that morality, morality are a consequence of reason, a practical embodiment of the reasonable convictions of a person, which, first of all, are laid in human consciousness by God. And from this point of view, Abelard first designated ethics as a practical science, called ethics "the goal of all sciences", because ultimately all knowledge should find its expression in moral behavior corresponding to the available knowledge. Subsequently, a similar understanding of ethics prevailed in most Western European philosophical teachings.

Ticket.

Any philosophy is worldview, that is, the set of the most general views on the world and the place of man in it.

Philosophy forms the theoretical basis of the worldview:

- philosophy- this is the highest level and type of worldview, it is a systemically rational and theoretically formed worldview;

- philosophy- this is a form of social and individual consciousness that has a greater degree of scientificity than just a worldview;

- philosophy is a system of fundamental ideas as part of a social worldview. Worldview- this is a generalized system of views of a person and society on the world and his own place in it, a person's understanding and assessment of the meaning of his life, the fate of humanity, as well as a set of generalized philosophical, scientific, legal, social, moral, religious, aesthetic values, beliefs, convictions and ideals of people.

The worldview can be:

Idealistic;

Materialistic.

Materialism- a philosophical view that recognizes matter as the basis of being. According to materialism, the world is a moving matter, and the spiritual principle is a property of the brain (highly organized matter).

Idealism- a philosophical view that believes that true being belongs to the spiritual principle (mind, will), and not matter.

The worldview exists in the form of a system of value orientations, beliefs and beliefs, ideals, as well as the way of life of a person and society.

Value orientations- a system of spiritual and material benefits, which society recognizes as the dominant force over itself, determining the actions, thoughts and relationships of people.

Everything has significance, meaning, positive or negative value. Values are unequal, they are evaluated from different points of view: emotional; religious; moral; aesthetic; scientific; philosophical; pragmatic.

Our soul has a unique ability to define precisely its own value orientations. This is also manifested at the level of worldview positions, where it is a question of the attitude to religion, art, to the choice of moral orientations and philosophical preferences.

faith- one of the basic foundations of the spiritual world of man and humanity. Every person, regardless of their assertions, has faith. Faith is a phenomenon of consciousness with tremendous power of vital importance: it is impossible to live without faith. The act of faith is an unconscious feeling, an inner sensation, in one way or another characteristic of every person.

Ideals are an important part of a worldview. A person always strives for the ideal.

Ideal- it's a dream:

About a perfect society in which everything is fair;

Harmoniously developed personality;

Reasonable interpersonal relationships;

Moral;

Beautiful;

Realization of their capabilities for the benefit of humanity.

Beliefs- this is a clearly composed system of views that have settled in our soul, but not only in the sphere of consciousness, but also in the subconscious, in the sphere of intuition, thickly colored with our feelings.

Beliefs are:

The spiritual core of the personality;

The basis of the worldview.

These are the components of the worldview, and its theoretical core is the system of philosophical knowledge.

Ticket

The main problems of ontology

Ontology is the doctrine of being and being. A branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental principles of being, the most general essences and categories of existence; the relationship between being and the consciousness of the spirit is the main question of philosophy (about the relationship of matter, being, nature to thinking, consciousness, ideas).
Problems. In addition to resolving the main issue of philosophy, ontology is engaged in the study of a number of other problems of Being.
1. Forms of existence of Being, its varieties. (what kind of nonsense? maybe all this is not necessary?)
2. The status of the necessary, accidental and probable - ontological and epistemological.
3. The question of the discreteness / continuity of Being.
4. Does Being have an organizing principle or a goal, or develops according to random laws, chaotically.
5. Is there clear determinism in existence or is it accidental in nature?

The main problems of epistemology
Epistemology is a theory of knowledge, the main part of philosophy, which considers the conditions and limits of the possibility of reliable knowledge
The first problem of epistemology is to clarify the nature of cognition itself, to identify the foundations and conditions of the cognitive process (and why, in fact, does the human mind seek explanations for what is happening?) Of course, there can be more than enough answers: for practical reasons, for reasons of needs and interests, etc. ...
But no less important is the second part of the problem - the clarification of the conditions of the cognitive process. The conditions under which a cognitive phenomenon occurs include:
1. nature (the whole world in its infinite variety of properties and qualities);
2. man (human brain as a product of the same nature);
3.form of reflection of nature in cognitive activity (thoughts, feelings)
The second problem of epistemology is the definition of the ultimate source of knowledge, the characteristics of the objects of knowledge. This problem breaks down into a series of questions: Where does knowledge derive its source material from? What is the object of knowledge? What are the objects of cognition? Speaking about the source of knowledge, we can reasonably assert that the external world ultimately delivers the initial information for processing. The object of cognition is usually understood in a broad sense to mean what cognition is directed to - the material world (natural and social) that surrounds a person and is included in the sphere of human activity and their relationships.

Pierre Abelard (1079-1142) is the most significant representative of Medieval philosophy during its heyday. Abelard is known in the history of philosophy not only for his views, but also for his life, which he set out in his autobiographical work "The History of My Disasters". From an early age, he felt a craving for knowledge, and therefore abandoned the inheritance in favor of his relatives. He was educated in various schools, then settled in Paris, where he was engaged in teaching. He gained fame as a skilled dialectician throughout Europe. Abelard also became famous for his love for Eloise, his talented student. Their romance led to marriage, which resulted in the birth of a son. But Eloise's uncle intervened in their relationship, and after Abelard was desecrated (he was emasculated) on Abelard's instructions, Eloise went to a monastery. The relationship between Abelard and his wife is known from their correspondence. The main works of Abelard: "Yes and no", "Know thyself", "Dialogue between a philosopher, a Jew and a Christian", "Christian theology", etc. He was a well-educated person, familiar with the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, with others monuments of ancient culture. The main problem in Abelard's work is the relationship between faith and reason, this problem was fundamental for the entire scholastic philosophy. Abelard gave preference to reason, knowledge over blind faith, so his faith must have a rational basis. Abelard is a zealous supporter and adherent of scholastic logic, dialectics, which is able to expose all kinds of tricks, which is what distinguishes it from sophistry. According to Abelard, we can improve in faith only by improving our knowledge through dialectics. Abelard defined faith as an "assumption" about things that are inaccessible to human senses, as something that does not deal with natural things, cognizable by sciences. In "Yes and No" Abelard analyzes the views of the "church fathers", using excerpts from the Bible and their writings, and shows the inconsistency of the statements cited. As a result of this analysis, doubts arise in some of the dogmas of the church, Christian doctrine. On the other hand, Abelard did not doubt the basic principles of Christianity, but only called for a meaningful assimilation of them. He wrote that one who does not understand Scripture is like a donkey seeking to extract harmonious sounds from the lyre, not understanding anything about music. According to Abelard, dialectics should consist in questioning the assertions of authorities, in the independence of philosophers, in a critical attitude to theology. Abelard's views were condemned by the church at the Soissos Cathedral (1121), and by his verdict he himself threw his book "Divine Unity and Trinity" into the fire. (In this book, he argued that there is only one and only God the father, and God the son and God the holy spirit are only manifestations of his power.) In the works "Dialectics" Abelard expounds his views on the problem of universals. He tried to reconcile extremely realistic and extremely nominalist positions. Abelard's teacher Roszelin adhered to extreme nominalism, and Abelard's teacher Guillaume of Champeaux also adhered to extreme realism. Roscelin believed that there are only isolated things, there is no general at all, the general is just a name. Guillaume of Champeau, on the contrary, believed that the general exists in things as an unchanging essence, and individual things only bring individual diversity into a single general essence. Abelard believed that in the process of his sensory cognition, a person develops general concepts that are expressed in words that have one or another meaning. Universals are created by man on the basis of sensory experience through abstraction in the mind of those properties of a thing that are common to many objects. As a result of this process of abstraction, the formation of universals occurs, which exist only in the human mind. This position, overcoming the extremes of nominalism and realism, was later called conceptualism. Abelard opposed the scholastic speculative and idealistic speculations about knowledge that existed at that time. In the work "Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew and a Christian," Abelard pursues the idea of religious tolerance. He proves that every religion contains a grain of truth, therefore Christianity cannot believe that it is the only true religion. Only philosophy can reach the truth; it is governed by natural law, which is free from all kinds of sacred authorities. Moral cognition consists in following the natural law. In addition to this natural law, people follow all kinds of prescriptions, but they are just unnecessary additions to the natural law that all people follow - conscience. Abelard's ethical views are set forth in two works - "Know thyself and" Dialogue between a philosopher "a Jew and a Christian." They are closely related to his theology. The main principle of Abelard's ethical concept is the assertion of the complete moral responsibility of a person for his actions, both virtuous and sinful. This view is a continuation of Abelard's position in the field of epistemology, emphasizing the subjective role of man in cognition. A person's activity is determined by his intentions. In itself, no act is either good or evil. It all depends on intentions. A sinful act is one that is committed contrary to the convictions of a person. In accordance with these beliefs, Abelard believed that the pagans who persecuted Christ did not commit any sinful actions, since these actions did not conflict with their beliefs. The ancient philosophers were not sinful either, although they were not supporters of Christianity, but they acted in accordance with their high moral principles. Abelard questioned the assertion of Christ's redemptive mission, which was not that he removed the sin of Adam and Eve from the human race, but that he was an example of high morality to be followed by all mankind. Abelard believed that humanity inherited from Adam and Eve not the ability to sin, but only the ability to repent of it. According to Abelard, a person needs divine grace not for the implementation of good deeds, but as a reward for their implementation. All this contradicted the then widespread religious dogmatics and was condemned by the Council of San (1140) as heresy.

Pierre (Peter) Abelard or Abelar(fr. Pierre Abélard / Abailard, lat. Petrus abaelardus)

medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian, poet and musician; one of the founders and representatives of conceptualism

short biography

In 1079, in the family of a Breton feudal lord, who lived near Nantes, a boy was born, who was awaited by the fate of one of the most famous philosophers of the Middle Ages, theologian, troublemaker, poet. Young Pierre, abandoning all rights in favor of his brothers, went to the vagant, itinerant schoolboys, listened to lectures in Paris by the famous philosophers Roszelin and Guillaume de Champeau. Abelard turned out to be a talented and daring student: in 1102 in Melun, not far from the capital, he opened his own school, from where his path to the glory of an outstanding philosopher began.

Around 1108, having recovered from a serious illness provoked by too intense activity, Pierre Abelard came to conquer Paris, but he did not manage to settle there for a long time. Due to the intrigues of the former mentor Guillaume de Champeau, he was forced to teach again in Melen, was for family reasons in his homeland in Brittany, received a theological education in Lana. However, in 1113 the well-known master of "liberal arts" was already lecturing on philosophy at the Paris cathedral school, from where he was once expelled for dissent.

The year 1118 broke the calm course of his life and became a turning point in the biography of Pierre Abelard. A short but vivid love affair with a 17-year-old student Eloise had a truly dramatic outcome: the dishonored ward was sent to a monastery, and the revenge of her guardian turned the loving teacher into a disfigured eunuch. Abelard came to himself already in the monastery of Saint-Denis, also tonsured as a monk. After some time, he again began to lecture on philosophy and theology, still attracting great attention not only to enthusiastic students, but also influential enemies, which the free-thinker philosopher always had a lot. Through their efforts in 1121 a church council was convened in Soissons, obliging Abelard to set his heretical theological treatise on fire. This made a heavy impression on the philosopher, but did not force him to renounce his views.

In 1126 he was appointed abbot of the Breton monastery of St. Gildaziya, but because of the relationship with the monks, the mission was short-lived. It was in those years that the autobiographical Story of My Disasters was written, which received a fairly wide response. Other works were written, which also did not go unnoticed. In 1140, the Council of Sans was convened, which turned to Pope Innocent II with a request to ban Abelard from teaching, writing works, to destroy his treatises, and severely punish his followers. The verdict of the head of the Catholic Church was positive. The spirit of the rebel was broken, although later the mediation of the abbot of the monastery in Cluny, where Abelard spent the last years of his life, helped to achieve a more favorable attitude of Innocent II. On April 21, 1142, the philosopher died, and his ashes were buried by Eloise, the abatess of the monastery. Their love story ended with burial in one place. Since 1817, the remains of the couple have been buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.

Pierre Abelard's works: "Dialectics", "Introduction to Theology", "Know thyself", "Yes and No", "Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew and a Christian", a textbook of logic for beginners - put him in the ranks of the largest medieval thinkers. He is credited with the development of the doctrine, which later received the name "conceptualism". He turned the church orthodoxies against himself not so much by polemics on various theological postulates as by a rationalistic approach to questions of faith (“I understand in order to believe” as opposed to the officially recognized “I believe in order to understand”). The correspondence between Abelard and Héloise and The History of My Disasters is considered one of the brightest literary works of the Middle Ages.

Biography from Wikipedia

The son of Lucie du Palais (before 1065 - after 1129) and Berenguer (before 1053 - until 1129), was born in the village of Palais near Nantes, in the province of Brittany, into a knightly family. Initially intended for military service, but an irresistible curiosity and especially the desire for scholastic dialectics prompted him to devote himself to the study of sciences. He also renounced the right of entitlement and became a cleric scholar. At a young age, he listened to lectures by John Roszelin, the founder of nominalism. In 1099 he arrived in Paris to study with the representative of realism - Guillaume de Champeau, who attracted listeners from all over Europe.

Abelard was the universally recognized head of dialecticians, and in his clarity and beauty of his presentation surpassed other teachers in Paris, the then focus of philosophy and theology. At that time, the 17-year-old niece of Canon Fulbert Eloise, famous for her beauty, intelligence and knowledge, lived in Paris. Abelard was inflamed with passion for Eloise, who answered him in full reciprocity. Thanks to Fulbert, Abelard became Eloise's teacher and family man, and both lovers enjoyed complete happiness until Fulbert found out about this connection. The latter's attempt to separate the lovers led to the fact that Abelard transported Héloise to Brittany, to her father's house in Palais. There she gave birth to a son, Pierre Astrolabe (1118-circa 1157) and, although she did not want to, she secretly married. Fulbert agreed in advance. Soon, however, Eloise returned to her uncle's house and refused to marry, not wanting to prevent Abelard from receiving clergy titles. Fulbert, out of revenge, ordered the emasculation of Abelard, so that in this way, according to canonical laws, his path to high church positions was barred. After that, Abelard retired as a simple monk to a monastery in Saint-Denis, and 18-year-old Eloise took her tonsure in Argenteuil. Later, thanks to Peter the Venerable, their son Pierre Astrolabe, raised by his father's younger sister Denise, received the post of canon in Nantes.

Abelard withdrew to Cluny, where he died at the monastery of Saint-Marseille-sur-Saone in 1142 at Jacques-Marin.

Abelard's body was transported to the Paraclete and then buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Next to him was then buried his beloved Eloise, who died in 1164.

The life story of Abelard is described in his autobiography Historia Calamitatum (History of my troubles).

Philosophy

In the dispute between realism and nominalism, which dominated at that time in philosophy and theology, Abelard occupied a special position. He did not consider, like Roscelin, the head of nominalists, ideas or universals (universalia) only as simple names or abstractions, he equally did not agree with the representative of realists, Guillaume of Champeau, that ideas constitute universal reality, just as he did not admit that the reality of the general is expressed in every single being. On the contrary, Abelard proved and forced Guillaume of Champeau to agree that the same essence does not apply to each individual person in all its essential (infinite) volume, but only individually, of course (“inesse singulis individuis candem rem non essentialiter, sed individualiter tantum "). Thus, in the teachings of Abelard, there was already a reconciliation of the two great opposites between themselves, the finite and the infinite, and therefore he was rightly called the forerunner of Spinoza. But still, the place occupied by Abelard in relation to the doctrine of ideas remains a controversial issue, since Abelard, in his experience of acting as a mediator between Platonism and Aristotelianism, speaks very vaguely and shakyly.

Abelard argued that the only sources of truth are dialectics and Scripture. In his opinion, even the apostles and fathers of the Church could be mistaken. This meant that any official church dogma that was not based on the Bible could, in principle, be false. Abelard, as the Philosophical Encyclopedia notes, asserted the rights of free thought, because thinking was declared the norm of truth, which not only makes the content of faith understandable to reason, but in doubtful cases comes to an independent decision. Engels highly appreciated this aspect of his activity: “For Abelard, the main thing is not the theory itself, but the resistance to the authority of the church. Do not "believe in order to understand", as in Anselm of Canterbury, but "Understand to believe"; an ever renewed struggle against blind faith. "

The main work "Yes and no" ("Sic et non"), shows the contradictory judgments of the authorities of the church. He laid the foundation for dialectical scholasticism.

Literary and musical creativity

For the history of literature, the tragic love story of Abelard and Heloise, as well as their correspondence, are of particular interest.

Having already become the property of literature in folk languages in the Middle Ages (the correspondence between Abelard and Héloise was translated into French at the end of the 13th century), the images of Abelard and Héloise, whose love turned out to be stronger than separation and tonsure, more than once attracted writers and poets: Villon, “Ballad o ladies of the old days "(" Ballade des dames du temps jadis "); Farrer, "La fumée d'opium"; Pope, Eloisa to Abelard; The title of the novel "Julia, or New Heloise" ("Nouvelle Heloïse") also contains a hint of the story of Abelard and Heloise.

Abelard is the author of six extensive lamentable poems (planctus; biblical paraphrases) and many lyric hymns. Perhaps he is also the author of sequences, including the very popular "Mittit ad Virginem" in the Middle Ages. All these genres were text-musical, the poems assumed chant. Abelard almost certainly wrote the music to his poems himself. Almost nothing has survived from his musical compositions, and the few laments recorded in the system of adiastematic insane notation cannot be deciphered. Of the notated hymns of Abelard, one has survived - "O quanta qualia".

"Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew and a Christian" is Abelard's last unfinished work. The Dialogue provides an analysis of three ways of reflection that have ethics as a common basis.

Poetic and musical compositions (sample)

Lament of Dina, daughter of Jacob (Planctus Dinae filiae Iacob; inc .: Abrahae proles Israel nata; Planctus I)
Lamentation of Jacob for his sons (Planctus Iacob super filios suos; inc .: Infelices filii, patri nati misero; Planctus II)
Lament of the virgins of Israel for the daughter of Jephthah of Gilead (Planctus virginum Israel super filia Jepte Galadite; inc .: Ad festas choreas celibes; Planctus III)
Lamentations of Israel for Samson (Planctus Israel super Samson; inc .: Abissus vere multa; Planctus IV)
Lamentations of David for Abner killed by Joab (Planctus David super Abner, filio Neronis, quem Ioab occidit; inc .: Abner fidelissime; Planctus V)
Lamentations of David for Saul and Jonathan (Planctus David super Saul et Jonatha; inc .: Dolorum solatium; Planctus VI). The only crying that can be confidently deciphered (preserved in several manuscripts, recorded in square notation).

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