University:
University of Cambridge
Course:
0460 IGCSE | Geography
Academic year:

2023
Views:

225

Pages:

3
Author:

toufikhobe

Apollo & Dionysus - Task 9 Know Thyself Peter Abelard: French philosopher of the Middle Ages 'Ethica or Know Thyself Sin recognition that an action is against God's will 'Problem of universals' To will does not mean to fulfil the will To sin does not mean to perform the sin o Suggestion, pleasure and consent lead to sin Conceptualist o The act of thinking constitutes the object forming concepts o No essence, no transcendent forms o Description of reality comes from our own mind Naturalist o Natural laws (science) applies Learning Goals: 1.) Who was Abelard? 2.) What is the 'problem of universals? 3.) What is his definition of sin? a.) compare it to Augustine 4.) How does Abelard's conceptualism show in his ethics? 1.) Biography of Abelard: Peter Abelard Born in 1079 in Britany (France) Died in 1142 Excelled in dialectics Teacher of 'Heloise' o Slept together at night o Relationship was secret o She got pregnant secret marriage Opened his own school Uncle found out and punished him by castration Contributed a lot to modernity 'Catalyst philosopher' towards the beginning of modernity People are waiting for the return of God in the year 1000 2.) o New universities Problem of universals: 'Are these universals discovered or are they invented by us?' Universals: o Category of things based on our own thinking o Objects that have things in common are put into a certain category o Groupings/categories = 'universalities depend on how we conceive them Plato: o Human mind plays a role in constituting knowledge o transcendent reality is eternal/independent/unchangeable o Knowledge = rediscovering universals Aristotle: o Discovering of universals through observation and abstraction Essence = immanent, there are as many essences as there are things with that essence not an average Philosophical Realism: • Plato, Aristotle Belief that reality is objective Belief that essences are necessary Conceptualism: Abelard, Ockham Belief that 'universals' are invented Belief that 'universals' are a subjective element to knowledge Essences are not transcendent/a priori or immanent, but come after/a posteriori we experience them act of thinking constitutes the object 3.) Definition of sin for Abelard: Having wrong intentions Intention of going against God's will Moral obligation to behave according to God's will God gave us intellect we should use it to act according to his principles Recognition that our action is against God's will = sin Only God & yourself know if you're sinning a.) Comparison to Augustine: Augustine: 'Going against God' o Any deed or opposition to his law o Turning away from God = sin o 'original sin' we're all inclined to do evil Bad will in itself is sinful Abelard: Sin is located in the intention the consent One can fight against bad will Three aspects: bad will, consent/intention, deed Example: Intention of killing  decision to do so  stopping because police shows up Is the act sinful for Abelard? Yes, motivation not honest; if police wouldn’t have showed up  bad deed 4.) Abelard’s conceptualism in his ethics: - Morality is different from human law - You can only sin against what you think is the will of God