Abelard – Ethics, or Know Thyself (Book I) Book I o Morals – the mind’s vices or virtues that make us disposed to bad or good deeds Also vices and virtues of the body On Mental Vice Relevant to Morals o Some vices or goods of the mind are unconnected to morals These don’t make a human life deserving of censure or praise E.g. mental obtuseness or quick wit; having a good memory or being forgetful; ignorance or knowledge o “disposed to bad deeds” – they incline the will to something that isn’t properly to be done or renounced at all What Difference Is There between a Sin and a Vice Inclining One to Evil? o Mental vice isn’t the same as sin o A sin isn’t the same as a bad action o Vice: Being hot-tempered Disposed or easily given to the turmoil that is anger It inclines the mind to doing something impulsively and irrationally that isn’t fit to be done at all o The vice is present even when the action is absent o They don’t sin by the fact that they are like this o Religion doesn’t think it shameful to be defeated by a human being, but by a vice o Whatever is common to good and bad people equally is irrelevant to virtue or vice What Is Mental Vice, and What Is Properly Called “Sin”? o Vice makes us disposed to sin We are inclined to consent to what is inappropriate, so that we do it or renounce it This consent is what we properly call “sin” The fault of the soul whereby it merits damnation or is held guilty before God o God cannot be offended by injury but he can by scorn o Sin consists of non-being rather than of being - sometimes We can define sin negatively, saying it is not doing or not renouncing what is appropriate o Willing a bad deed is also a sin - sometimes As a result, in the same way as there is virtue in a good will so there is sin in a bad will, and there is sin not only in non-being but also in being, just as with virtue o Sometimes we sin without any bad will the one we triumph over when we subject it to the divine will But we don’t entirely extinguish it. so that we follow His rather than ours. one that consists of great mental sorrow. whether it springs from good or bad willing o When we prefer His will to ours. he doesn’t destroy it . so that it is clear from this that willing isn’t said to be what sin is o Internal struggle What if this willing is curbed by the virtue of moderation but not extinguished Now this enemy is our bad will. so that we always have a will we might strive against o We don’t merit anything from God Since in giving out rewards He takes account of the mind rather than the action The action doesn’t add anything to the merit. we do obtain great merit before Him o It isn’t the lusting after a woman but the consenting to the lust that is the sin It isn’t the will to have sex with her that is damnable. no doubt there is will o He curbs his desire. it wins the palm-branch of victory for those resisting it. Shouldn’t be called a “sin” but a kind of illness that is now necessary When a bad will is curbed without being extinguished. but the will’s consent Example: Fruit (gluttony) o Where there is desire. and it provides the material for a fight and a crown of glory o Cruel master example (killing in defense) It was against his will and under duress that he did what kept his life intact as long as possible This willing isn’t to be condemned as bad Yet he did wrong in consenting to an unjust slaying he should have borne rather than inflicted His unjust consent that preceded the killing was a sin o But surely a so called “willing: like this. isn’t to be called a “willing” but rather a “suffering” To say he wants one thing because of another is like saying he tolerates what he doesn’t want because of something else he does desire No one suffers when he accomplishes his will and when what happens delights him o It is plain that sin is sometimes committed without any bad will at all. then not even married couples are exempt from sin when they are brought together by this bodily pleasure that is permitted to them. nevertheless we don’t want to be punished o When we lust after a married woman. or to grow worse or to be made deserving of damnation? For although we might want to do what we know ought to be punished. since he wanted to escape or put off death) o If doing the act is considered a sin. someone who tries as hard as he can to go through with it is just as guilty as one who does go through with it insofar as he is able o How do we say the sin is “voluntary”? How do we say we want to scorn God (which is what sinning is). but to not be married There are some who lust after a woman for who she is married to (powerful) o “I really don’t see how this consent that we don’t want is going to be called “voluntary” so that. from which he already incurs punishment even if not fault. he doesn’t fall into sin o We consent to what isn’t allowed when we don’t draw back from committing it and are wholly ready to carry it out should the opportunity arise Adding on the performance of the deed doesn’t add anything to increase the sin For God. following some people as was said. we don’t want her to cheat. nevertheless he committed it from some will. we call every sin “voluntary” – unless we understand the “voluntary” as merely excluding the necessary (since no sin is inevitable). or that whereby we might be deserving of punishment. and neither is one who enjoys a delicious meal of his own fruit Taking pleasure in an action is not necessarily sinful Bounds of permission allow certain pleasurable actions But yet the pleasure is not what is permitted – technically they should be done without pleasure o No natural bodily pleasure is to be counted as a sin o Original Sin Surely one who doesn’t yet perceive by reason what he ought to do doesn’t have any fault because of scorn for God Yet he isn’t immune to the stain of his earlier parents’ sin. he preserves in his punishment what they committed in their fault . or call the “voluntary” whatever arises from some will (for although he who killed his master under duress didn’t have a will for killing. o But because he isn’t drawn into consent. but only that we should not bear it. as long as he doesn’t say it and keeps quiet for whatever reason. doesn’t become guilty before the Law. For it wasn’t stated that we should not want to bear false witness. will for unjust from himself o Question of Integrity of God’s commands . or not agree to bearing it. namely the consent that we’ve said is alone the sin Not the will preceding it or the subsequent doing of the deed Will consent deed (Bad) consent without bad will – the example of a person who unwillingly killed his master (Good) No consent with bad will – fell into lust for a woman seen o Consent as sin He who shall look at a woman in order to lust after her – is consenting to the lust o If we look carefully. through the justice of one and the viciousness of the other EX: hanging a criminal Power of justice from God. or even he who consents to saying it. with the result that the inferior life would prevent a great amount of sin. wherever deeds appear to be included under a command or prohibition. as being about the deed. they are to be referred more to the will or the consent to the deeds than to the deeds themselves “Thou shalt not kill” etc Such acts can be committed sometimes without sin If this kind of prohibition is taken at face value.o Indulgence – being able to turn away from the more perfect life to the practice of a more lenient life Marriage & sex Indulgence isn’t forgiving a sin. and is less in merits so that it not become greater in sins o Any kind of carrying out of deeds is irrelevant to increasing a sin Nothing taints the soul but what belongs to it. then he who wants to bear false witness. but the authorization of a more lenient life in order to avoid fornication. Marrying ones sister Does one sin if he does it out of ignorance and accident? He doesn’t break it because he didn’t consent to breaking it insofar as he acted unknowingly o The merit or praiseworthiness of the doer doesn’t consist in the deed but in the intention Often in fact the same thing is done by different people. but in order that his obedience and the steadfastness of his faith or of his love for him might be sorely tried and left as an example to us Thus. whether that inclination is a will or a consent God doesn’t allow us to be tempted by more than we can bear Human temptation – based off of human needs Why God Is Called the Examiner of the Heart and Reins o The examiner of the intentions or consents stemming from there with respect to: Lust of the flesh Lust of the soul o Men should punish for acts between men – not sins We punish house-burnings with a greater penalty than we do for carrying out fornication. with our own judgment we pursue their results. Commanded Abraham to kill Isaac Commanded followers to not tell about miracles God didn’t intend this or command it to be done that Abraham would really sacrifice his son. when before God the latter is regarded as much more serious than the former o These things are done not so much out of duty to justice as out of the proper balance needed for its administration. in the case of a deed that was not right o Conclusion: Four parts The mental vice that makes us disposed to sin The sin itself o Which we have located in consent to evil or scorn for God The will for evil The doing of the evil Just as willing isn’t the same as accomplishing the will. so that in preventing public injuries we have regard for general expediency Saving the mind’s faults for divine judgment. this intention of God’s was right. which are ours to judge . so sinning isn’t the same as carrying out the sin Three steps Instigation Pleasure Consent o Temptation Any inclination of the mind to doing something improper. when if one believes that what he is aiming at is pleasing to God. and in order that some people should take their examples from others in doing things that are proper or shunning those that are improper That a Deed Is Good by Means of a Good Intention o As in “Socrates is sitting” Is true or false based on changing in the subject thing On What Basis Should an Intention Be Called Good? o Pleases God? What they believe pleases God But they are deceived in this zeal or eagerness of mind. We pay more attention to administering – that is. to the standpoint of foresight – than to pure fairness o But God arranges everyone’s penalty according to the extent of the fault o A deed is good because it proceeds from a good intention On the Reward for External Deeds o We aren’t denying that in this life something is awarded for these good or bad deeds. because it is such as it is considered to be – that is. he is in addition not deceived in his evaluation . in order that we may be further encouraged to good deeds or kept from bad ones by present repayment as profit or penalty. keep itself from error o An intention isn’t to be called good because it appears good. but more than that. their intention is mistaken and their heart’s eye is not simple in such a way that it could see clearly – that is.