{"id":50,"date":"2014-10-09T19:11:39","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T19:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/boethius101.org\/?page_id=50"},"modified":"2014-12-12T17:02:55","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T17:02:55","slug":"can-philosophy-make-you-happy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/?page_id=50","title":{"rendered":"Can philosophy make us happy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You are not yet ready for strong medicines, I’m afraid, so we shall begin with something milder, so that the sore and angry places may be softened and soothed. Then we can perhaps begin the real treatment of your complaints.<\/em> (I,v, p. 22)<\/p>\n

There is something puzzling about the Consolation of Philosophy<\/em>: Boethius, a Christian writer, finishes his argument\u00a0about obtaining happiness\u00a0without ever having mentioned Christianity. Why would he fail to mention Christianity,\u00a0which could potentially be the ultimate consolation?\u00a0 The\u00a0Consolations\u00a0<\/em>does, in fact, end very abruptly, as though no final answer has been reached.<\/p>\n

Christianity and Philosophy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Authors typically write with specific audiences in mind, much like\u00a0the authors of the four\u00a0Gospels; each book is written for the respective writer’s community. Perhaps Boethius wrote for a specific audience consisting of those who are using their reason to understand the human condition, \u00a0regardless of their religious affiliation.<\/p>\n

For some, Christianity is the\u00a0instrument through\u00a0which faith is achieved, and they find happiness without knowing anything about philosophy. Although these individuals are able to believe almost instantaneously, many other people have to struggle along the path of understanding before they arrive at faith. Philosophy may be a different path to the same goal of faith by exploring and emphasizing human reason as opposed to religion. The path is long and wandering, and\u00a0the Consolation<\/em> is a necessary step for\u00a0those who are traveling the path because it\u00a0provides them with\u00a0a better understanding of\u00a0how Philosophy can work in their lives.<\/p>\n

What Boethius seems to be saying is that there is no single path to faith, thus both Christianity and Philosophy are journeys to the same destination.\u00a0 Philosophy, then, could also serve as the\u00a0preparation for faith. Taken this way, the Consolation<\/em>\u00a0would be comparable to\u00a0first seven books of\u00a0St. Augustine’s\u00a0Confessions <\/em>in which we meet a young, misguided Augustine, who is restless, navigating through life without clear purpose. He ventures into questionable practices and pursuits as he becomes engulfed in the material world. As his autobiography progresses, he begins to doubt the moral value of his life and seeks answers regarding the deeper truths of life with the tools of philosophy. Augustine\u2019s growth parallels the tumultuous mental state of imprisoned Boethius as he wrestles with the questions and circumstances of his own life. By the end of Book VII, Augustine reaches a similar point to that reached\u00a0at the end of Consolation. <\/em>Although Augustine is certain of the presence of God, he has only \u201cbut glimpsed at it like a tantalizing reflection in a mirror\u201d (Confessions<\/em> VIII.i.1). Perhaps Boethius ends his book quite suddenly\u00a0to suggest that for some people, Philosophy cannot provide sufficient assistance. Like Augustine, they must complete the rest of the journey through Christianity.<\/p>\n

Even Augustine\u2019s writings might also be considered\u00a0incomplete because they are still only a part of the path to faith. \u00a0Although Christianity is the answer for many, some Christians can even lose their faith. There is no evidence in the text to suggest this, but perhaps in moments of despair, Boethius himself questioned his Christian faith and found solace in Philosophy. In this way, neither the Consolation of Philosophy <\/em>nor the Confessions <\/em>can provide complete explanation and guidance to faith. The metaphorical path continues onward past Confessions:<\/em>\u00a0all of us must find our own way to venture ahead.<\/p>\n

Pretend you yourself are on this journey, starting out with total disbelief. Guided by Boethius, you travel\u00a0along the path of Philosophy. At the end of the Consolation<\/em>, however, you are left with a void that was not totally filled by Philosophy. Or perhaps you have not previously found Christianity satisfying? \u00a0Where do you turn next? Perhaps Philosophy will bring you further along the road. \u00a0Perhaps Boethius does not mention Christianity anywhere in his Consolation<\/em> because it is only one way that may or may not be able to guide you all the way through your journey.<\/p>\n

To recap all of what we\u2019ve just thrown at you: there are three main points about the relationship between Philosophy and Christianity. First, the Consolation of Philosophy<\/em> is necessary for some people, in order to understand what Philosophy is and how it works in their lives. However, Philosophy is not sufficient for others; for them faith and Christianity are also an essential part of the path. \u00a0The last, and perhaps most important point, is that perhaps neither Philosophy nor Christianity is a complete line of reasoning. Although each path has important ideas that figure into the process of belief, neither of the two doctrines is an absolutely essential path to faith. \u00a0As with Plato’s theory of recollection, both Christianity and Philosophy are human tools that may, in one way or another, awaken the faith that lies deep within us all.
\n\"Creative\u00a0<\/a>
\nThis work is licensed under a\u00a0Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License\u00a0.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You are not yet ready for strong medicines, I’m afraid, so we shall begin with something milder, so that the sore and angry places may be softened and soothed. Then we can perhaps begin the real treatment of your complaints. (I,v, p. 22) There is something puzzling about the Consolation of Philosophy: Boethius, a Christian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50\/revisions\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boethius101.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}