The story of my misfortunes, life of a medieval philosopher

Author's name: Pierre Abelard Publisher: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Jadid Al-Muttahidah Year of publication: 2025 Literary classification: Philosophy and Thought Brief about the book: "My Calamities: A Life of a Medieval Philosopher." A book issued by Dar Al-Kitab Al-Jadid in Beirut at the beginning of 2025. It is an autobiography written by the French philosopher Pierre Abelard (1079-1142), in which he recounts the social and intellectual calamities that befell him. Abelard, or Abelardus as his contemporaries with Latin culture called him, lived an extraordinary life, blending a critical sense opposing the ideas circulated among clergy, teachers, and scholars, with the social tragedy represented by the secret romantic relationship he had with an educated girl from the noble class, which incited the anger of her family, who used to abuse him, isolate him, and strip him of his manhood. He was a great philosopher and a skilled teacher of logic, debate, and theology in the schools of Paris, where he developed an epistemological and critical philosophy in his numerous writings, such as "A Treatise on Perception," "Yes and No," "Know Yourself," and other works that provoked the anger of the Church, which condemned him in religious councils, burned his books, and sentenced him to withdraw from writing and teaching, and to retreat into the Monastery of Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris.