Abstract The paper examines how in his Ethics, medieval philosopher Peter Abelard addresses the distinction between ethical evaluations of the deed and the intention. As this essay demonstrates, Abelard's contention that performance of the deed adds nothing to the moral value of the intention, is based upon his centralizing ethical evaluation in the intention of the act and not in the act itself. As is argued, this contention is controversial as it is rooted in Abelard's basis of sin as lying in consent and not in action and as such has profound and unsettling implications for our understanding of ethics into the present day.
Abstract This paper discusses the love letters of the twelfth century French couple, Abelard and Heloise in the context of the social mores of the time, and focuses primarily upon their ideas concerning marriage, philosophy, and love.
Abstract This paper examines the lives and times of the twelfth century lovers Abelard and Heloise, as revealed in the correspondence that has been preserved as "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise." The writer discusses how, in addition to autobiographical information, the forces reshaping European demographics and society during the twelfth century are evident within the pages of the text. The revolutionary new disputation technique in teaching, the emergence of the Cathedral schools, reforms within the Church, the controversial debate surrounding the universals, as well as the censorship of Abelard's work are all well represented within "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise."
From the Paper "The first-born son of a Breton knight, Abelard became so enamored with learning that he surrendered his right to primogeniture to his younger brothers in order to pursue his studies. He explains in his Historia calamitatum that he rejected the life of a soldier and "withdrew from the court of Mars in order to kneel at the feet of Minerva," choosing the "conflicts of disputation instead of the trophies of war" (58). He studied under noted scholars, among them Roscelin, Anselm of Laon, and William of Champeaux, and amassed an ever widening group of his own students, before eventually securing the chair of Notre Dame for himself."
Abstract This paper analyzes "The Letters of Heloise and Abelard" by Betty Radice. It looks at the wide range of issues that the correspondence of Heloise and Abelard touch on, such as love and marriage, monasticism, scholarship and the consequences of family feuds. The paper also looks briefly at the characteristics of each lover as can be seen through their writing.
From the Paper "The second letter, in which Heloise writes to Abelard asking why he has not written to her in ten years, is especially interesting in that it reveals that Heloise had little choice but to enter a convent in obedience to Abelard. (Radice 53) His advice to her about running the convent reflected the prevailing consensus that shipping women off to a convent if they got into any sort of trouble was the best way to deal with scandals, for it was commonly believed that life in a convent would eliminate the temptation to sin, instill piety and provide a religious environment conducive to repentance."
"Monasteries served the same purpose for men, and Abelard entered one for the same reasons he advised Heloise to enter a convent. But entering a monastery was voluntary for men and was not a coercive sanction imposed by society on men for sexual indiscretions. A pervasive double standard existed in medieval times, for men were not held by society to the same sexual standards as women. This double standard even extended to the clergy, who were not officially permitted to marry and were expected to be celibate. But many members of the clergy married anyway, and had mistresses, without suffering any consequences in the form of social ostracism or punitive action from the Vatican."
Abstract This paper discusses the relations between the sexes, both within and outside the Church in the 12th Century. It uses the example of Pierre Abelard's writings to Heloise, to qualify points made.
From the Paper "Most students of medieval history or theology know the story of Pierre Peter Abelard, a famous theologian and philosopher whose views got him denounced as a heretic in the 12th century. However it is not as a philosopher that he is best remembered, but his popular fame resulted from his tragic love affair with Heloise exchanging famous letters of love and suffering ..."
Tags:Abelard, Heloise, morals, status of women, Church elite, forgeries
Abstract This paper compares the concept of the public female sexual self, as portrayed by two 18th century writers: Eliza Hayward and Alexander Pope. The paper analyzes Hayward's text, "Fantomina," and Pope's text, "Eloisa to Abelard", citing examples from the texts and discussing their context in the work in order to compare the two texts and their authors.
From the Paper "Once this innocence is transgressed, Eloisa continues to burn with heat within, heat that suggests fire and damnation, although Pope does not openly condemn Eloisa as Haywood does Fantomina. Although Haywood has been described essentially as a conservative in her presentation of conventional morality, by suggesting such a hyper-sexualized public sphere, she herself paradoxically causes the reader to see sexuality where it might not otherwise seem to be lurking. The outer sexuality infiltrates the home, and even creates it within an innocent girl. In the message of almost all of the author's works, the house by day can be a scene of debauchery at night if strangers are allowed to enter it, just as it was in the case of Eloise (Pettit 2002, p.1)."
