Boethius Disagree With Confucius's Consolation Of Philosophy

In Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius gets a visit from Lady Philosophy in his jail cell who teaches Boethius the steps in order to achieve true happiness in life. What Boethius learned from Lady Philosophy was that, in order to receive true happiness, you must not carry what the world considers “good fortune”; wealth, material possessions, power, and honor. Boethius wrote “when riches are shared among many it is inevitable that they impoverish Those from whom they pass”(The Consolation of Philosophy, Book 2, p.33). Meaning that wealth only has value while it is being transferred which results in the taking of wealth from someone else. The amount of wealth holds no value if you are unable to move it, so how can that give you true …show more content…

While both writers have very similar ideologies, Boethius may disagree with Confucius writings about treating everyone equally. Confucianism’s foundations revolve around treating people with equality and respect in order to achieve true happiness, while Boethius believes that one doesn’t need to be treated or awarded with honor or power to still achieve the same thing. One can say these two share the same ideas but a different personality. Confucius was treated with respect and praise as a man who gave people a new ideology to follow even though Confucius himself admits that he was not inventing anything new. Boethius on the other hand did not receive the same reception that Confucius received. Boethius was given no friends in the political scene, incited jealousy from powerful enemies, and was thrown into jail for preaching his thoughts. He was ridiculed for just following his beliefs wholeheartedly, campaigning for just laws, fair taxation, and more. Boethius was just being faithful to his philosophy and followed god in all things, but that just led him to his imprisonment. Treated with unfairness, Boethius writes, “And now,you see the outcome of my innocence - instead of rewards for true goodness, punishment for my crime i did not commit” (Consolation of Philosophy, Book 1, p.13). As you can see, the two ideologist had two very different backgrounds when …show more content…

Both authors have a different perspective about what they believe free will is and who gives it to them. Boethius’s take on free will with the belief that God knows all outcomes of everything that one man or women will do in their lifetime, but will not influence any judgment or decision that one person may or may not take. In the book, Lady Philosophy says to Boethius, “It is not necessary, they say, that what is foreseen must happen, but it is necessary that what is destined to happen must be foreseen”(Consolation of Philosophy, Book V, p.120). However In his writings, Boethius raises the question asking, if God knows what every human’s outcome is, why doesn’t God intervene and steer people away from evil? By God not having influence or role in outcome on any human lives, it holds human mankind accountable for their actions they choose to partake, good or bad, and to not be God’s puppets. It empowers men and women to to choose how to live their life not knowing the outcome anyway, giving them their free will. However Confucius's take on mankind’s free will has nothing to do with the aspect of God knowing every move we make. Confucius explains this in his writing when he spoke “The master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from my complexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of