|
 Philosopher
of the Month
November
2002 - Boethius
Boethius
must rate as one of history's most overlooked philosophers. Yet
he is arguably one of the key figures in the pantheon of Western
philosophy. His work The Consolation of Philosophy has been
described as the single most important work in the West in medieval
and early Renaissance Christianity. Bertrand Russell himself said
that Boethius was a great man free from the superstitious restraints
of his age: 'He would have been remarkable in any age; in the age
in which he lived, he is utterly amazing.'
Also,
for centuries Aristotle was known in the West only from two of Boethius'
own translations. Professor of Philosophy at the University of Glasgow,
Richard Stalley said that the work of Boethius was of profound importance:
'He is extremely significant historically, not least because he
was instrumental in transmitting ancient thought to the medieval
world and through that to the modern.'
Furthermore,
Boethius was an authority in the field of music-theoretical matters.
Medieval authors from around the ninth century onwards considered
his De institutione musica as a key text in the field of
Greek music-theoretical thought and systems. Readers today study
this work as a guide to understanding the historical evolution of
medieval music theory and its sources in Greek writings. Issues
raised by Boethius - such as the mathematical division of pitch
space, consonance and scale forms and systems - remain relevant
for music theory today.
Anucius
Manlius Severinus Boethius (c.480-525 AD) was a prominent member
of the Roman political establishment. He was Master of the Offices
under the Roman Emperor Theodoric. However, Boethius later fell
foul of the Emperor and was convicted of treason and subsequently
executed.
It
was while he was languishing in prison that Boethius wrote his seminal
work The Consolation of Philosophy. In this book, the author
tells how a divine spirit, that is Philosophy, appears and reveals
her infinite wisdom. The book, and indeed Boethius himself, were
heavily influenced by Plato and his dialogues.
The
Consolation of Philosophy deals with many major philosophical
issues and is a joy to read. Professor Stalley said, 'The Consolation
is a very important work which incorporates a lot of important ancient
philosophy in a Christianised form. It is a book which ought to
be more widely read and I have often wondered how I could devise
a course with that book on it.
'The
whole thing is impressive as a statement of faith and philosophy
written under appalling conditions while Boethius awaited execution.'
In
the book, Boethius seeks to define virtue, justice and also human
nature. It also has a great deal to say on a hardy perennial of
philosophy, that is free will and determinism. Boethius attempts
to explain the relationship between God's omniscience and man's
freewill. To quote V.E. Watts on Boethius, 'God is like a spectator
at a chariot race; He watches the action the charioteers perform,
but this does not cause them.' God, to Boethius, is like a grand
spectator of everything simultaneously, past and future in an eternal,
present outside of temporal limits. Thus as a Christian, he manages
to resolve the relationship between God's infallibility and man's
freewill and moral responsibility.
The
Consolation also looks at the subject of human nature. For Boethius,
humans are essentially good. It is only when people fall into what
he terms 'wickedness' that they lose a special part of their humanity.
As he writes, they 'sink to the level of being an animal.'
The
book has an interesting discussion of justice and the individual
which demonstrates its relevance to a contemporary audience. Criminals
are not to be vilified, rather they are to be treated with sympathy
and respect. Boethius uses the analogy of a doctor and a patient
to illustrate how the relationship between criminal and prosecutor
should be.
Besides
The Consolation, Boethius wrote works on Cicero, Porphyry
and Aristotle as well as essays on logic and textbooks on what is
known as his 'quadrivium' of geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and
music. His work is extremely important and had far-reaching effects
on Western conceptions of history and time. As Professor Stalley
said, 'Considering the history of thought, he is a very important
and surprisingly overlooked figure and someone I personally admire
quite considerably.' His work even influenced major literary figures
like Dante and Chaucer. It is amazing that Boethius remains such
an obscure figure who doesn't even rate a mention in the Routledge
Dictionary of Philosophy. It is high time that he received far
greater recognition for his tremendous contribution to the history
of Western philosophy.
A
new philosopher of the month will be featured early-December 2002
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