What 12th-century scholar is closely associated with early scholastic method and the work “Sic et Non”?

The story behind the answer

A pioneer of scholasticism, Peter Abelard composed Sic et Non (“Yes and No”), a compilation of seemingly contradictory statements from Scripture and the Church Fathers. His goal was not skepticism but training: students were to define terms, analyze context, and reconcile authorities through logic—hallmarks of the early scholastic method and the university disputation.

Teaching in Paris, his bold reliance on dialectic stirred controversy and led to condemnations (notably at the Council of Sens in 1140), yet his method reshaped medieval learning. While contemporaries such as Hugh of St Victor and, later, Peter Lombard produced influential handbooks, Abelard’s systematic use of organized doubt and reason set the pattern for academic inquiry that dominated the High Middle Ages.