Aristotle is a good philosophical base for "truth"
Both in the Christian and Muslim world, Greek philosophy had been gone for a long time and had to be reintroduced in the 12th and 13th centuries. Many believed that the Greek philosophers were pagan heretics, to be disregarded, but Abelard argues that Aristotle's syllogistic reasoning is explanation enough that his understanding of reality has merit.
Abelard also argues that Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics is correct in its analysis of human intent. Aristotle's argument was simply that both the quality of an action and the quality of the person's intent should be considered before making moral judgments for or against them.
Plato and realism
Although Plato's ideas existed in the Latin world, there were so many books and poems by Plato that had never been seen before. With only a fraction of the works available, the Latin world had taken Plato for a realist, and the Realist school in the West used Plato as one of their hallmarks. But then when they read the rest of Plato's works, they realized that Plato was indeed not a realist at all.
Abelard responds to Plato's newly discovered ideas concerning the existence of the forms, the illusory nature of reality, and the primacy of human thought and experience. He offers his assessment of Plato's Organon.
The doom of unbaptized babies
One of the most historically significant aspects of Abelard's writings is how he treats the highly controversial issue of his time, whether babies go to hell when they die before their baptism. For this, he turns to the Christian philosophy of the Summon Bonum or the "Highest Good" of human existence. He maintains the traditional philosophical view that the highest good for human life is to encounter God in the Beatific Vision (to witness God on his throne in heaven, directly, with one's own eyes).
Abelard explains that in his opinion, babies who are not baptized are not eligible to such a great reward. But, he adds, that doesn't necessarily mean they go to hell, as many were arguing. He says they go to a kind of "baby limbo." These ideas may sound ludicrous, but this argument became the standard for hundreds of years, and some Catholics still believe something similar.
