Scito Te Ipsum: Ethiek en Moraal zit in uzelf

Abstract

Pierre Abelard (1079-1142) was a philosopher and teacher, specifically a logician. He had a tumultous life, and wrote several interesting books with reference to ethics and morals. The thesis was a search in one of his books 'Scito Te Ipsum' on what Abelard meant with 'intent' in his moral theories. Abelard was a great defender of the importance of intent in an action, as opposed to others who judged morally on the basis of result or the execution of an action. The theory is interesting as it becomes more and more difficult to find out what morally is the right thing to do, even in our times. The paper gives and overview of Abelards examples and arguments to pinpoint 'intent' as the key to a moral judgement.