Pierre Abélard wired the modern mind

This podcast introduces Boris Kriger’s book, Reason on Trial: The Triumph of Pierre Abélard, which reevaluates the life and legacy of the twelfth-century philosopher Peter Abelard. The sources describe Abelard as a pioneering thinker who championed the primacy of reason, the importance of individual intention in ethics, and the use of doubt as a systematic method for inquiry. Despite facing severe persecution, including castration and charges of heresy, the text argues that Abelard’s ideas eventually became the foundation of modern education and the university system. Kriger explores how Abelard’s «invisible victory» shaped contemporary logic and the way we distinguish between collective categories and individual reality. Ultimately, the work portrays Abelard as a tragic genius whose intellectual rebellion against rigid authority paved the way for the freedoms of the modern mind.