Both in form and content, Boethius' classic work De consolatio philosophiae (c. 524) straddles the artificial boundary between the West's "Classical" period and the Middle Ages. The text is structured as a dialogue between the despondent Boethius, condemned to death for reasons to which he alludes in Book I, and Lady Philosophy--an allegory of wisdom. But the text itself is written as a prosimetrum or a hybrid composition combining prose and poetry. As a translator and student of the works of Plato (as well as other Ancient Greek philosophers), Boethius' thought is steeped in Platonic philosophy. Thus, his very employment of this form has meaning in itself. The prose stands for the measured words and reason of philosophy, while the poetry is a formal place holder for the role of artifice in thought. After all, Plato bars poets from his ideal republic. Considering Plato's ironic critique of poetry and poets, it is curious that Boethius has Lady Philosophy also speak in poetry after her admonition of the Muses (she goes so far as to call them meretricas or "prostitutes"). Perhaps this suggests that reason cannot fully triumph over artifice, or beauty cannot be completely vanquished by truth, its synonym in the Platonic scheme.
Although Boethius was a Christian and this work in particular made an indelible impact on Medieval Christianity, also evident here are strands of thought akin to Pagan, Stoic, and even Buddhist philosophy. It is B.'s desire for a willed reality that differs from Reality that leads to his suffering. This is a philosophical idea akin to the First and Second Noble Truths of the Buddhist tradition, namely that 1) all experience is dukkha ("suffering"or "unsatisfactory") and 2) the cause of that dukkha is desire. B. also brings up important philosophical questions regarding the role of Fortune, and the conflict between free will and determinism. B. has studied philosophy, but when confronted by the vicissitudes of misfortune, it is immensely difficult for him to apply the philosophy that formerly sustained him in happier times. Thus, that philosophy becomes personified as an often strident interlocutor.
What is the medicina that Lady Philosophy offers the speaker in this text? Does he find it without or within? In what ways do you see the role of Lady Philosophy in this text? Is she a projection of B.'s superego? Besides the female gender of the word sophia in Greek (and most other abstract nouns in gendered languages) might there be another reason that philosophy is personified as a woman? Would she have worked as a male interlocutor? As we will be reading Augustine's Confessions next week, consider the ways in which this "consolation" might also be a "confession." Regarding genre, is this text more of an autobiographical narrative or a philosophical treatise?
I believe the 'medicina' that Lady Philosophy offers is solace through perspective. She provides him a position on reality he has lost grasp with since facing misfortune. He is unable to find the 'good' of his current situation because his mind is clouded with his negative emotions. The fact the Lady Philosophy is in fact a lady plays into the linguistic derivative. Why are abstract nouns female in the first place? Is the love of wisdom an abstract idea in that 'love' is theoretical where wisdom is not? Lady Philosophy brings love and wisdom into B's supposed dire situation where a man might bring a logistic frame of mind when trying to heal B's woes.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the text would have had the same affect if Lady Philosophy were a male. B calls her his "nurse" and "physician" (not that these are feminine terms) but she is a nurturing/mother figure for him, she calls him her child. She provides him the comfort he needs and also harsher language to snap him out of his slump. Maybe his love for philosophy is like his love for women. We asked in class why people write autobiographies, I think B wrote his to work through is own feelings, and find comfort in his theories. Putting epiphanies in words can be difficult, maybe a conversation is how he thought he could best describe his change of mind. And as I read it it made me think that I do not have much to complain about, if Lady Philosophy visited me while I was down I definitely would not have a good explanation why I was feeling that way (compared to B).
ReplyDeleteThis is random, but because of all of the Greek contexts and talk about wisdom I thought Lady Philosophy was representing the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena. I took it as if he was praying to her and she answered his prayers and enlightened him, as well as helped him with his own wisdom and philosophies. She is definitely very motherly but also gives him the push that he needs to snap him out of his slump. This might be because psychologically if we are alone, we seek out a motherly figure, whether it be biologically our own or not.
ReplyDeleteI think that the entire exchange between B. and Lady Philosophy was merely a product of his imagination. It was a hallucination or a daydream; a product of B.'s mind that came about so that he could come to terms with his reality. To me, it seemed to be a very imaginative manner in which to self-soothe. She is able to ground him and put his earthly flaws in check, but at the same time reassure him that he's not as bad as he could be, or others she has seen. I saw this as the way in which all humans choose to rationalize their own behavior and choices, especially ones they regret or know are not so great. I feel like Lady Philosophy is a product of B.'s superego, her role is simply to ease B.'s conscience and help him to justify his earthly attachments and materialism.
ReplyDeleteIn the lines mentioning Boethius’ confrontation with misfortune, there is a problem with his application of his philosophy to his current predicament. He had attempted to apply a set of universal philosophy towards a scenario that should be dealt with moral relativism. What led to his downfall was the through the work of men and society. Being sentenced to death as a heretic for being mediator in a religious conflict in the 6th century is a very specific situation since it was pride of men that had condemned him.
ReplyDeleteLady philosophy was more or less an incarnation of the Oedipus complex to serve Boethius’ waning state of mind. While the writing focuses on the concept of good and greed, Lady philosophy’s existence exemplifies Boethius as a man by the simple concept of human nature. It is much easier to relate with something with a face, which is exactly what Boethius did to the metaphysical idea of Philosophy. Humans are social creatures and their mindsets revolves around the concept of socializing, which is why in most “episodic” writings such as the Bible or even the Consolation of Philosophy, it involves interaction with other people or even image representation of ideas.
I believe there are many reasons why Lady Philosophy is portrayed as a woman in this text. B has spent time in jail where I am sure he has not had a lot of contact with women. So when writing and thinking he wants to think of woman and their loveliness. Also, in this time period and many others women are portrayed as innocent and caring. These characteristics are what he needs to help him clear his mind. B's thoughts are consumed with misfortune. As we talked about in class misfortune is one of the major themes here. Specifically, that the worst misfortune of all is to have once been happy and to be left with only memories. This is the state at which we find B and the reason he needs Lady Philosophy. She is there to help and show B a new outlook besides misfortune. Her being a woman is part of her "medicina". B needed a woman who is seen as a caregiver and guiding figure to help him get out of his own head.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris Fiore that Lady Philosophy was a product of B's imagination. I think that by writing this he's doing something similar to Alan Watts does - and maybe a lot of people who write autobiographies do - in that he's trying to figure himself out. I think he sees what's wrong with his life but doesn't really know how to come to terms with it or how to fix it, so he creates a character in his mind and plays out this storyline in which she tells him everything he already knows but, maybe, is afraid to accept. I think, in the way, this could also be seen as a confession as he's coming to terms with his wrongdoings. It seems to me more like a philosophical treatise than an autobiographical narrative because I think there's a level of truth and experience that comes with an autobiographical narrative that we might not necessarily get from this text. He does spend much of it pondering his own thoughts and creating characters in his own frame of mind, which makes me lean toward the side of a philosophical treatise. Additionally, I feel like the point of an autobiography isn't entirely to figure one's self out along the way, but to have some defined notes of experience and tell them as simply and truthfully as possible, without all of the thoughts in between. I'd agree with some of the students above that he portrays her as female because he sees her as a mother, a caregiver, and maybe he doesn't feel that a male could do that job justice.
ReplyDeletePhilosophy offers Boethius comfort in the form of logic and reason as he nears the end of his life. There are several ways to interpret /De consolatione philosophiae/. His writings could have been purposely written as a work of fiction, portraying Lady Philosophy as a physical "demigod" to whom he speaks an interacts with. Perhaps Lady Philosophy was an actual person, a visitor he had, and his writings detail the interactions and conversations he had with this person who offered inspiration and consolation to him in that difficult time. I read it as that he was entering a different mindset in his imprisonment, and was personifying his meditations and reflections as Lady Philosophy. He realizes that inflaming his fragile state of mind (as he waits for his execution) through writing emotionally-charged poetry is both not a good way to cope with his impending death, and also a waste of his last moments of life. He spends the rest of his time reasoning and meditating with himself on philosophical matters and relates it to the reader as a conversation between himself and the personification of Philosophy. Either way, he must have found the /medicina/ within, because he is writing this as an autobiography of sorts; of course everything written he wrote must come from him!
ReplyDeleteI personally do not believe it would have mattered if Philosophy were portrayed as a male figure. Nothing I read of her descriptions or speech seemed particularly feminine or motherly. Perhaps she was personified as a woman because Philosophy is a Muse in some sort of fashion - perhaps of the muse of insight - or maybe she was modeled after (or related to?) Athena, as some people have already pointed out. As I mentioned before, this work can be viewed as his philosophical ramblings explained to the reader as a conversation between himself and another character. Therefore I think I would consider this a philosophical treatise /in the style of/ an autobiographical narrative.
In this text, Lady Philosophy offered the medicina of wisdom, comfort, and the ability to accept oneself. She delivers Boethius this sense of control over his life because ever since being troubled with misfortune, he has felt as if his destiny has never been under his jurisdiction. Boethius finds this “cure” within himself because it is not an aspect that can be defined as tangible. Instead, by creating Lady Philosophy, a product of his imagination, he is able to undergo a self healing process by accepting the reality of his existence. Lady Philosophy is personified as a woman in Boethius’ case because she is meant to serve as a nurturing figure to himself. She provides him with comfort and guidance, just as a mother would. If Lady Philosophy were to be a male, I do not think we would see Boethius make such transformations within his own self. It is clear that Boethius has a love for Lady Philosophy (to represent his love for woman), similar to his passion for philosophy. I personally believe that this piece is written as an autobiographical narrative because Boethius writes to particularly share his emotions, ideas, and how he discovered consolation through his obsession of principles. Therefore, he wants the reader to be invited into his transformation and most importantly, hear his story as he knows it to be. This is what makes it an autobiographical narrative rather than a philosophical treatise.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I was struck by your "maternal" reading of Lady Philosophy. I tend to think of her gender in the narrative as derived from the gender of the word "Philosophia," but her role as a nurturing, maternal figure should not be overlooked either. I would push you to recalibrate the subjective dimension of Boethius in this narrative. Is he being urged to find a truth within himself an eternal truth that transcends the limited notions of the self?
DeleteThe “medicina” that Lady Philosophy offers B is a type of wisdom that expands past his current situation. B is miserable and suffering in his current situation because of his desire for his old life. In the end of his life it seems as if B is searching for some type of enlightenment to understand why it all matters and understand how the cycle of Fortune works. According to Buddhist beliefs, B would be able to reach his enlightenment if he was able to let go of his desire for material wealth and popularity. Lady Philosophy helps him search for this by encouraging him to let go of his passion for poetry and focus more on practical philosophy. The Wheel of Fortune comes into play because the idea behind it is that your fortune is always changing so you should never get too attached to your current standings. This relates to B because he used to be a highly established political figure in the Roman empire but then ends up in jail. His fortune clearly changed and if he had not based his worth off of his political standings and success, then he would have had an easier time adjusting to his new life in prison.
ReplyDeleteKirstin, you offer an excellent reading of the cause of B.'s misery, and indeed Stoicism has many analogues with Buddhist Philosophy, even in its Christian form, but just how do you draw the parallel that you do with Buddhism here? Is it something in the kernel of the conflict of the Consolatio?
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