University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School July 2019 Abelard's Affective Intentionalism Lillian M. King University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Scholar Commons Citation King, Lillian M., "Abelard's Affective Intentionalism" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8377 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abelard’s Affective Intentionalism by Lillian M. King A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Thomas Williams, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Michael DeJonge, Ph.D. Roger Ariew, Ph.D. Colin Heydt, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 18, 2019 Keywords: Medieval, History of Ethics, Charity, Consent, Augustine Copyright © 2019, Lillian M. King “Only if you fall in love do you make a study of the beloved, for passion lets us inquire into other people’s mysteries with the vitality borne of conviction.” -Mary Karr, from How to Read “The Waste Land” ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is no small task. Without the generosity of numerous individuals this work would have been an impossibility. My entire committee (Thomas Williams, Michael DeJonge, Roger Ariew, and Colin Heydt) has been most encouraging of my ability and project. I have spent countless hours reviewing the careful comments of my two major co-professors, Thomas Williams and Michael DeJonge. I am so very grateful for their commitment to me their roles as mentors. Moreover, my love for philosophy and academic interest in Christian ethics began during an undergraduate seminar with Thomas Williams. His wit and vigor inspired me more than he will ever know. Both Thomas and Michael have gone above and beyond their duties as mentors and I am happy to call them friends. Speaking of friends, the ideas contained within this dissertation are the product of dozens of conversations I have had with two of the very best—Ashley and Garrett Potts. I have been so lucky to have co-collaborators in all of my academic endeavors. We have traveled together to Chicago for the APA (American Philosophical Association) Conference, New Haven for Yale Divinity School’s summer workshop on joy, to Ireland for the SWIP (Society for Women in Philosophy) conference, and to New York for a summer seminar on Aquinas. We have taken a handful of seminars together that resulted in more laughter than is professionally appropriate. Most importantly, they have never tired of listening to me talk about intention—or, so I think. In truth, the philosophy department at USF has made possible these most providential friendships. In addition, I owe my family for instilling a love of my faith that has sustained me throughout my doctoral studies. In many ways, my entire project has been the fruit of a love affair with Catholicism that began at a very young age. I am confident in saying I might have been the only nine-year-old who played “stations of the cross” with her barbies. My Grammy, Virginia Mary Tottle, is entirely responsible for this. Her devotion instilled all twelve of her children with a profound respect for the Catholic Church that was so formative in my youth. It has never left me. Finally, I am ever-grateful to my husband, Tyler Abadal, who has supported me throughout this entire process. He has borne the brunt of my stress and anxiety throughout the past five years. We planned a wedding while I was preparing for my comprehensive exams and were married at the beginning of my third year. He has been patient with my successes, failures, and time away from home. Meanwhile, he has been a devoted caretaker of our spoiled dog, Lucy. Lastly, Tyler has made many sacrifices so I could finish my degree, including deferment of his legal studies. He has put my education before his own, which has been a great testament to his love. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract......................................................................................................................................... iii A Note on the Texts.......................................................................................................................v A Chronology of Abelard’s Life and Major Works.................................................................vii Introduction...................................................................................................................................1 I. Thesis...............................................................................................................................1 II. Brief Biographical Context..........................................................................................4 III. Defining Terms............................................................................................................9 Chapter One: Abelard’s Gospel of Intention............................................................................15 I. Augustine’s Influence..................................................................................................17 II. Old Covenant Versus the New: Works Versus Intention.......................................28 III. Fear Versus Love: Slavery Versus Friendship........................................................33 IV. Conclusions................................................................................................................41 Chapter Two: Distinguishing Intention and Consent............................................................43 I. A History of Conflation...............................................................................................45 II. Consent Re-Examined................................................................................................51 III. Intention Re-Examined.............................................................................................59 IV. Separating Blame and Praise....................................................................................68 V. Conclusions.................................................................................................................33 Chapter Three: Abelard Is Not A Proto-Kantian.....................................................................70 I. Moral Praise in Kant.....................................................................................................71 II. Moral Praise in Abelard.............................................................................................75 II. Struggle and Merit......................................................................................................81 IV. Moving Beyond the Kantian Appraisal.................................................................87 V. Conclusions.................................................................................................................95 i Chapter Four: Sola Caritate........................................................................................................96 I. Justified by Love: Abelard’s Atonement Theory.....................................................98 II. Situating Abelard’s Ethics within a Narrative of Redemption............................102 III. Consequences for Pagan Virtue.............................................................................113 IV. Conclusions..............................................................................................................119 Conclusions................................................................................................................................121 I. Review of Argument..................................................................................................121 II. Abelard’s Intentionalist Ethics?..............................................................................123 III. A Medieval Ethic of Authenticity?........................................................................125 References ..................................................................................................................................132 ii ABSTRACT The work contained within this dissertation is a textual exegesis of Abelard’s ethics. The goal is to elucidate Abelard’s sort of intentionalism given his use of “intention” within his wider corpus, the grammatical and syntactical patterns in his prose, and Abelard’s own interests, biography, and situation as a twelfth-century monastic figure. As a result, this project should be understood as a history of philosophy dissertation. I am not attempting to build upon Abelard’s ideas but to clarify them. This is not to say that building upon Abelard’s ideas is not a worthwhile project. It is merely to say that doing so is beyond the scope of this project. I found it necessary to clarify Abelard’s ideas about ethics because I found that many interpretations of his ethical work were either lacking or wildly incorrect. This has much to do, I think, with the history of Abelard’s reception as a theologian. When Abelard’s ethic was first received, it was