The Consolation of Philosophy Themes

Born in 477 C.E. just after the Roman Empire collapsed, Roman philosopher Boethius lived in an era of profound transformation at the very beginning of the Middle Ages. Christianity had officially displaced Paganism as Rome’s dominant religion, and knowledge of Greek was rapidly disappearing, leading scholars to gradually forget the work of Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. Although Boethius remains best remembered for The Consolation of Philosophy, which he wrote while…

Boethius’s title is deceptively literal: he dialogues with Philosophy in this book not because he seeks wisdom about the universe, but because he is sad and wants consolation. Having suffered a cascade of misfortune, Boethius is ultimately accused of plotting to overthrow Ostrogothic King Theodoric and awaits an unjust execution ordered by the very ruler Boethius spent decades serving. He craves some deeper understanding of his situation and wants to determine if he…

In Book V of his Consolation, Boethius raises a classic philosophical problem: how can people freely choose their actions if God knows everything that will happen beforehand? If there is no free will, then everything Boethius believes in crumbles: God’s rewards and punishments are meaningless, because people do not choose the behaviors that merit them; God is responsible for the evil in the world; and “hope and prayer” lose their power. Philosophy solves…