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earwicker 's review for:
The Consolation of Philosophy
by Boethius
Boethius uses one of Plato's most counter-intuitive feats of reason as the cornerstone of his Consolation: that evil does not exist. As he sits in his cell, awaiting an imminent execution, Boethius attempts to convince himself (via an angelic interlocutor named Philosophy) that the injustice he faces will do his persecutor more harm than it will do him, and that his unjust murder is providential. In the Big Picture, which is beyond human comprehension, his torture and demise is all for the best, because it is all part of God's plan.
This sounds a bit cracked, but it is perfectly reasonable (and reasoned) if one takes Platonic idealism as a matter of religious faith, which I think Boethius does. He found this to be consoling. What is really interesting to me is why did he think this was more consoling than Christianity -- or did he?
This sounds a bit cracked, but it is perfectly reasonable (and reasoned) if one takes Platonic idealism as a matter of religious faith, which I think Boethius does. He found this to be consoling. What is really interesting to me is why did he think this was more consoling than Christianity -- or did he?