ABSTRACT
Peter Abelard received his early education in arts from Roscelin of Compiègne in the schools of Loches or Tours around the mid or late 1090s. He probably also studied at Angers, and he was taught by a magister V., who may be Ulger or Vasletus. In his writings and commentaries on logic Abelard presents himself as an expositor of ancient logic. He nonetheless provides interpretations and emphases that are his own. He explores with formidable energy and perceptiveness the tensions he found in the traditional texts. The basic element in speech is the word. With words people signify ideas and things but words are themselves physical things. Abelard's examination of the nature of propositions is inseparable from his analysis of predication as it is found in the De interpretatione. Abelard's arguments concerning universals are an aspect of his general study of propositions.
