In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius, a religious and philosophical man, is framed for treason and sentenced to a cruel and painful death. During his imprisonment before his execution is to begin, he starts to believe three things: the wicked have power and happiness, things happen haphazardly, and he has been robbed and banished from all of his possessions. When he has become depressed and angry at his circumstance, he is visited by Lady Philosophy. She is disappointed that he has forgotten his philosophy, and begins to diagnose and cure him of these illnesses” that have taken form in his new beliefs.
Through his belief in an all good, all knowing, and all powerful god, she explains that none of these new beliefs can be true. They are disproved by the definition of an AGAPAK God. At the top of the cave, there is a light. This light represents God, who is all good, all powerful, and all knowing. God’s view on mankind is defined as Providence. However, because humans lack the ability to truly understand Providence, it cannot be defined accurately. Men only see the actions of God without the reasoning and planning ehind them, and this is defined as Fate.
God’s abilities far surpass the abilities of mankind, and because God is all knowing, God is able to observe all of mankind in a single instant. God knows the plan for everyone’s life. This means that God knows what is going to happen in advance, and that these events occur because God decided there was a purpose for them. God is not limited by time, as God is eternal, so God will always be able to have plans for men. The ability to know the plan for mankind and allow them to happen because they ust have a purpose disproves Boethius’ belief that things happen haphazardly.
If an AGAPAK God knows what’s going to happen, and sees a purpose behind them, then nothing can happen by chance. It’s impossible for chance to exist if God knows the future. However, this raises questions about the existence of free will. How can it exist if God already knows what everyone is going to do? This is explained because of humans inability to understand God’s power. Humans are not able to give a reason as to why they have free will, however they can assume that God knows the choices hey will make regardless of their free will.
All men seek happiness f Three false beliefs X f Nature of fortune f Examined Life: “Really want” vs. “Think we want” f Nature of happiness- the highest good of any rational nature. f things f Nature of evil f Nature of freedom f “Necessity argument- All is good Unity of all good Providence ana Fate x Existence of “chance” X Free will and Divine for knowledge X Time X What is the right thing to do? Self sufficiency power over self respect glory (to be worthy) Happiness If: AGAPAK God
Then: Happiness = Goodness (Divine Unity) If: Happiness = Goodness Then: All men really want/seek Happiness and Goodness Why: can never be taken away and satisfies all desires If All Men Seek Happiness If Happiness = Goodness (All True Happiness Based On Virtue) Then All Men Seek Goodness [ERROR] ??” Sin Always Punished Virtue Always Rewarded Everything That Happens To A Good Person Is Good Everything That Happens To A Wicked Person Is Bad [UP] Virtue [UP] Freedom [DOWN] Wickedness [DOWN] Freedom Wicked Happier If Caught And Punished
Happiness = Highest good of a rational nature; cannot be taken away; a good which once obtained leaves nothing left to be desired. All men want happiness All men believe that what they seek is a good thing and will lead to happiness They’re all making a mistake Wealth Want To Gain: Self-sufficiency We Get: Dependence Want To Gain: Power Over Self We Get: Insecurity Office (Position) Want To Gain: Respect We Get: Disrespect; lack of virtue Fame Want To Gain: To Be Worthy of Being Known (glory) We Get: Deception Pleasure Want To Gain: Happiness We Get: Anxiety; false happiness
