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Why did Peter Abelard use quotations with opposing views in Sic et non?
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Peter Abelard
Peter Abelard, with Héloïse, miniature portrait by Jean de Meun, 14th century; in the Musee Conde, Chantilly, France.
Peter Abelard compiled the quotations in his work Sic et non (1115–17) to highlight apparent inconsistencies in the teachings of the Fathers of the Church.
As a logician and student of language, Abelard did not present these opposing views to undermine faith, but rather to provide a structured method for resolving them. In the preface to the work, he formulated rules to help students reconcile these contradictions by distinguishing the various senses in which words had been used over the centuries, ultimately aiming to reach a correct theological solution.123