“For it is in your power,” says Marcus Aurelius in the Meditation “to retire into yourself whenever you choose”. Struggling to live the virtuous life according to Stoic philosophy, the roman emperor wrote in his private Meditations about the Good, the Bad and the Indifferent. In order to avert angst over the Indifferent –those things that are by nature uncontrollable-, Aurelius practiced the stoic virtue of ¬autarkeia or mental independence of all things. In light of this, the following essay will explain Boethius notion of self-sufficiency in Consolation of Philosophy in relation to Hellenistic philosophy.
The Consolations opens with the apparition of a lady -personifying Philosophy- over an anxious prisoner who scolds the slings and arrows of fortune that caused his downfall into imprisonment. She claims that “if you seek the physicians help, you must uncover the wound”, that is, a problem must firstly be understood (i.e. the cause of his mental unrest) to initiate a proper inquiry towards a possible solution. Lady Philosophy plays the figurative role of a soothing mother (or nurse) treating his child; firstly, with mild “medicine” to render him more tolerant to its effects, and then progressing the dosage with a heavier one (i.e. philosophical insight of great depth and breadth).
Unbeknown to prisoner is the (perfect) order of nature; as a result, Boethius suffers from the harmful consequences of “grief, anger and melancholia”. Such intense emotions are wounding to the soul, therefore “unclouded” raison is the end cure of “the disease of emotion”. In replying to Boethius emotional remarks, Lady Philosophy is described as showing “calm demeanor of indifference”, thus exemplifying the cosmos relationship to men (i.e. having ...
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...gs considered, consolation is attainable by virtue of knowledge of the Good, and by the end of book V, Boethius understands that God orders all things sweetly (perfectly). The once unappeased prisoner can now surpass his situation, uplift his spiritual freedom from the bondage of his (physical and mental) cell and rise to contemplation of the divine perfection. Was Boethius a quasi-stoic in high office like Marcus Aurelius? Skeptical in his approach, like is ideal Cicero? Or, was Boethius a neo-platonic philosopher coming into grips with his Christian faith? What ever it may be, Boethius is certainty a divisive figure for the breadth of his philosophy and the depth of his notion of the self-sufficient life.
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Nicholas Bunnin, Jiyuan Yu, The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. Blackwell publishing: Malden, MA. 2004. Print.
2. The literary genre of the Consolation of Philosophy is a satura. A satura is a combination of poems and prose. The model for Boethius’s work is Augustine. A lot of his work parallels Augustine’s beliefs and readings (especially in Book 5). Cicero was also a model for Boethius. He was a philosopher that had many ideas that Boethius agreed with. The work is structured by a combination of poems and prose. Book 1 starts off with a poem and alternates prose and Book 2-5 starts with a prose and alternates with poems. The prose is considered the story part and the poem summarizes the prose. They are very much like saying the same thing in two different ways. The poems were often Boethius’s response and the prose was Lady Philosophy’s consolations.
Effectively addressing the central issues found in The Song of Roland, such as the seeming cruelty of fortune and whether any good can come from war, requires seeking answers and points of comparison from major philosophy of the age. By placing the principles of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and the motivations and actions of Roland in The Song of Roland into conversation, it is possible to extrapolate the applicability of principles within Boethius to Roland’s actions, and to the role of Fortune in the battle and its aftereffects.
24 Amore, Roy C. and Julia Ching. The Buddhist Tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, Ed. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. P. 221
In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius uses good vs. evil argument in an objective, metaphysical view, on an abstract level. Good being the all-powerful God and evil being nothing. Parallel to that view, there is good vs. bad, which is presented from a human viewpoint. While the good has similar meani...
The Consolation of Philosophy is written by Boethius while in prison awaiting for his execution. It starts out with Boethius talking to lady philosophy and she starts to tell him about the philosophical view on Christianity. She begins by explaining that the vagaries of Fortune visit everyone and she has came there to "cure" him of all his suffering and sickness he is feeling through this troubling time. Boethius's view is more of a philosophical point of view meaning that he uses reasoning and experience to base his view of God. He doesn’t understand why bad things happen to good people and why good things happen to bad people. Boethius had a hard time understanding that God would allow good people to have a troubling life. Boethius has a
Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays.
life. In the long end he was cursed from the beginning to the end where he finally met his own faith. 8 SOURCESBooks•Bloom, Harold. Oedipus Rex. New York :An imprint of InfoBase. Publishing, 2007•Will, Frederic. Oedipus The King. New York: A Division of Simom & Schuster Inc•Grant, Michael. Greek and Latin Authors, New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1980Websites•Cox, Michael W. " A critical Analysis of 'Oedipus The King." Discovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 jan.2014•"Oedipus Rex" The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy". What Every American Needs To Know. E.D. Hirsch, Jr, Joseph F. Kert and James Trefil. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton mifflin, 2002. General One file. Web. 29 Jan.2014
Boethius places an increased emphasis on God’s eternal goodness to prove He can neither causes nor condone wickedness, intending to provide comfort for the virtuous affected by injustice. Boethius’s belief concerning the interaction of evil and justice in the Consolation of Philosophy intends to comfort the virtuous from the seemingly wicked world. Lady Philosophy, representing reason, soothes Boethius’s initial concerns by explaining how evil, the absence of good, can never defeat justice, and that the wicked will receive their punishment when Providence sees fit. Boethius also places an increased emphasis on God’s eternal goodness to clarify the role of Providence in the natural plan of the world. Boethius advises the reader that true happiness can only be found in the stability of the self and a virtuous lifestyle.
Thesis: The completion and substance of Oedipus Rex allows Oedipus to live grief-stricken throughout his successful search for justice.
Stumpf, S. E., & Fieser, J. (2008). Philosophy: History and problems. . New York: McGraw-Hill.
Abernathy, George L., and Thomas A. Langford. Introduction to Western Philosophy: Pre-Socratics to Mill. Belmont: Dickenson, 1970.
Dodds, E.R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 17-29.
This essay seeks to explore the life of the flawed mythological person, Oedipus, as protagonist of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.
Marcus Aurelius was a famous philosopher in 121 through 180 C.E. He lived a hard life and even though he was surrounded by crowds he was considered a recluse. He was known for his kindness and mercy. The last years of his life were spent on a military campaign. It is said that these years were the hardest and loneliest. However, instead of becoming bitter and angry Aurelius wrote The Meditations. This was a diary or journal of his personal thoughts. He believed that by writing this it was his duty to his soul. The Meditations, is a popular piece of stoic literature. In this paper I will be describing how Aurelius used stoicism in book two of The Meditations and what I liked and did not like about what he said.
Stumpf, S.E and Fieser, J. Philosophy: History and Readings, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008.