Grace, Misfortune, Luck, and Providence

Abelard’s determinism put to the test in his autobiography

Abstract

In the twelfth century Peter Abelard developed a deterministic theory on the basis of his theological conception of the Trinity. This determinism left no place for chance or randomness in human history. Abelard maintained this at a theoretical level, but how did he understand the dramatic events of his own life? His autobiography, Historia Calamitatum, with the burning of his books and the condemnation of his thought, and with his illicit love affair with Heloise, was a test case for determinism. It was a test that Abelard not only overcame, but one that opened up a way of understanding the relationship between human freedom and providence, one that can also indicate the role both of evil in creation and of suffering in history.