Boethius Argument Analysis
In this essay, I will discuss the arguments Philosophy presents to Boethius in the latter’s Consolation of Philosophy in order to support her view that the good are strong and the evil weak as well the sources that assign this strength and weakness to the good and wicked respectively. First, philosophy argues that the good are powerful since they are the only ones with the ability of actualizing their will; meaning that they are the only strong ones to attain the good they are seeking whereas the evil are not able to do so. She also mentioned that there might be specific reasons as to why the evil choose the vicious way of life instead, either because of their ignorance or they are willing to do it or they are both aware of their actions
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and also willinig to be vicious. To begin with, Philosophy explains that there are two essentials components in people’s life, will and ability (Slavitt 109). The former is necessary for the initiation of and act and the latter is important for the will to be actualized; lacking either of them will prevent one from doing what they wish. Now, if one is not able to achieve what he wills it is concluded that he does not have the proper ability to do so whereas those who do attain their goal are truly able to do it (Slavitt 109-110). The main conclusion for this argument is that, ultimately, one is considered strong when he is capable of attaining what he wills and weak when he lacks this ability. Additionally, the ultimate end of people’s actions is happiness which is the good itself as Philosophy phrases it (Slavitt 110) and both the good and the wicked aim at it. Nonetheless, the fact that some are called good indicates that they are the only ones who managed to attain the good; as for the evil, they would not be referred as this if they were also able to obtain the ultimate happiness (Slavitt 110). Now what should be considered is that solely the good have the capacity of achieving the good since they are the only strong enough to actualize their will. As for the wicked they are deemed weak due to their inability to achieve happiness. Furthermore, an additional argument Philosophy provides so as to prove that goodness is powerful and wickedness weak pertains to the means that the good and the evil use to obtain the good.
Specifically, the good wish to attain the good by engaging in virtuous activities compared to the evil whose actions are driven by their desires and impulses (Slavitt 112). Moreover, the virtuous acts are the proper means for those who are willing to achieve happiness since one can live a happy life only if he participates in activities of such kind. The main point here is that only virtuous people are able to do virtuous acts and hence they are the only individuals who can live a happy life. On the other hand, the wicked, as it is had been mentioned before choose to obtain the good by indulging in vicious acts which indicates that they are not able to reach their goal; their means are highly improper in order to achieve their object of will. Therefore, what is displayed here is that the good are powerful enough to attain happiness whereas the wicked are weak to do so. Specifically, the good are powerful and hence able to obtain the good since they have the mental strength to recognize that their fulfillment of their will, which is to achieve happiness is a result of virtuous actions. In contrast, the wicked have the false belief that their desires are sufficient and necessary to obtain the which constantly prevents them from attaining their
will. Nevertheless, since both the good and the evil have the same object of will, which is the good then why are the wicked unable to differentiate the virtuous from the vicious acts? Philosophy provides various possibilities as to why this occurs. First, she states that the evil due to their ignorance are not able to discern which things in life are good and mistakenly take the bad ones as good (Slavitt 113). This ignorance signifies the weakness of the wicked pertaining to the ability to identify and hence choose the right actions that will assist them to pursue the good. In addition, they might be aware of what is good and what is bad yet they still choose to pursue the latter. What this indicates is the lack of self-control and temperance that defines them; they become subservient to their passions which deceive them providing them with the false beliefs that this is the right way to obtain happiness. This lack of self-control also emphasizes the lack of strength pertaining to their ability to control their lust and their incapacity of engaging in virtuous activities. This also illustrates that the good are indeed powerful while the wicked are weak. Another essential argument Philosophy provides is that whether the wicked do have knowledge of their actions as well as they are willing to pursue evil this has as a result the pursuit of nothingness (Slavitt 113). The explanation of the previous argument derives from the fact that since the wicked have chosen to go after evil action they have essentially chosen to abandon the power of being able to do good. Being deficient in this way means that you have the power do nothing else. Even more, the ultimate good which everyone aims at is the most powerful existing thing and thus, whoever possesses refrains from doing evil. But since evil people do exist in the world it shows that not everyone has the power to deny the vicious way of life and hence they are less powerful than those who are only part of virtuous activities. In a nutshell, since every individual’s will is to obtain happiness which is ultimately the good they need to take into consideration the fact that solely through the practice of virtuous activities this can be achieved. Nevertheless, imposing wickedness in your life will only prevent you from finding happiness and thus, it will be the punishment for the rest of your life. The wicked ought to realize that their ability to actualize their lusts and passions is something that pushes them more and more away from their object of will, happiness. Therefore, people should wish to be able to be in control of themselves regarding their desires instead of surrendering to them and realize that there is no room for evil in their lives if they truly wish to be happy.
and also willinig to be vicious. To begin with, Philosophy explains that there are two essentials components in people’s life, will and ability (Slavitt 109). The former is necessary for the initiation of and act and the latter is important for the will to be actualized; lacking either of them will prevent one from doing what they wish. Now, if one is not able to achieve what he wills it is concluded that he does not have the proper ability to do so whereas those who do attain their goal are truly able to do it (Slavitt 109-110). The main conclusion for this argument is that, ultimately, one is considered strong when he is capable of attaining what he wills and weak when he lacks this ability. Additionally, the ultimate end of people’s actions is happiness which is the good itself as Philosophy phrases it (Slavitt 110) and both the good and the wicked aim at it. Nonetheless, the fact that some are called good indicates that they are the only ones who managed to attain the good; as for the evil, they would not be referred as this if they were also able to obtain the ultimate happiness (Slavitt 110). Now what should be considered is that solely the good have the capacity of achieving the good since they are the only strong enough to actualize their will. As for the wicked they are deemed weak due to their inability to achieve happiness. Furthermore, an additional argument Philosophy provides so as to prove that goodness is powerful and wickedness weak pertains to the means that the good and the evil use to obtain the good.
Specifically, the good wish to attain the good by engaging in virtuous activities compared to the evil whose actions are driven by their desires and impulses (Slavitt 112). Moreover, the virtuous acts are the proper means for those who are willing to achieve happiness since one can live a happy life only if he participates in activities of such kind. The main point here is that only virtuous people are able to do virtuous acts and hence they are the only individuals who can live a happy life. On the other hand, the wicked, as it is had been mentioned before choose to obtain the good by indulging in vicious acts which indicates that they are not able to reach their goal; their means are highly improper in order to achieve their object of will. Therefore, what is displayed here is that the good are powerful enough to attain happiness whereas the wicked are weak to do so. Specifically, the good are powerful and hence able to obtain the good since they have the mental strength to recognize that their fulfillment of their will, which is to achieve happiness is a result of virtuous actions. In contrast, the wicked have the false belief that their desires are sufficient and necessary to obtain the which constantly prevents them from attaining their
will. Nevertheless, since both the good and the evil have the same object of will, which is the good then why are the wicked unable to differentiate the virtuous from the vicious acts? Philosophy provides various possibilities as to why this occurs. First, she states that the evil due to their ignorance are not able to discern which things in life are good and mistakenly take the bad ones as good (Slavitt 113). This ignorance signifies the weakness of the wicked pertaining to the ability to identify and hence choose the right actions that will assist them to pursue the good. In addition, they might be aware of what is good and what is bad yet they still choose to pursue the latter. What this indicates is the lack of self-control and temperance that defines them; they become subservient to their passions which deceive them providing them with the false beliefs that this is the right way to obtain happiness. This lack of self-control also emphasizes the lack of strength pertaining to their ability to control their lust and their incapacity of engaging in virtuous activities. This also illustrates that the good are indeed powerful while the wicked are weak. Another essential argument Philosophy provides is that whether the wicked do have knowledge of their actions as well as they are willing to pursue evil this has as a result the pursuit of nothingness (Slavitt 113). The explanation of the previous argument derives from the fact that since the wicked have chosen to go after evil action they have essentially chosen to abandon the power of being able to do good. Being deficient in this way means that you have the power do nothing else. Even more, the ultimate good which everyone aims at is the most powerful existing thing and thus, whoever possesses refrains from doing evil. But since evil people do exist in the world it shows that not everyone has the power to deny the vicious way of life and hence they are less powerful than those who are only part of virtuous activities. In a nutshell, since every individual’s will is to obtain happiness which is ultimately the good they need to take into consideration the fact that solely through the practice of virtuous activities this can be achieved. Nevertheless, imposing wickedness in your life will only prevent you from finding happiness and thus, it will be the punishment for the rest of your life. The wicked ought to realize that their ability to actualize their lusts and passions is something that pushes them more and more away from their object of will, happiness. Therefore, people should wish to be able to be in control of themselves regarding their desires instead of surrendering to them and realize that there is no room for evil in their lives if they truly wish to be happy.