Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy
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- čas přidán 28. 03. 2018
- The Consolation of Philosophy is the name of one of the greatest and most useful books ever written, the work of the Roman statesman and philosopher Boethius, who wrote it in prison as a way to ward of despair and regret. The lessons of the book remain hugely applicable to our own times - and deserve to be known to all of us in the face uncertain times.
FURTHER READING
“For some 400 years across the European Middle Ages, one philosophy book was prized above any other. Present in every educated person’s library, it was titled in Latin De Consolatione Philosophiae or, as we know it in English today, The Consolation of Philosophy. Editions appeared in all the large European languages, Chaucer translated it into English, as did Sir Thomas More and Elizabeth I - and Dante made it a centerpiece of the intellectual scaffolding of his Divine Comedy…”
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The School of Life, Good Morning brothers and sisters!
Thanks
Is there a website with transcripts of your videos ?
Could you pleeeease make a video about Pythagoras?
live forever '
The School of Life (Love is a selfless circle Causality formula)
Hope always exists as a perfectly infinite choice, whether we choose to do or not do.
Selflessly,
Ps. Love is a choice of free will that is built on respectful trust as Hope (not its result) for Happiness, and when chosen by each half of a couple, it reciprocally makes a selfless circle.
(Global Love Formats) facebook.com/notes/eternal-optimism/causality-of-love-cause-and-effect-law-of-love/10157264829300720
Words to live by: "Happiness cannot consist in things governed by chance."
That's the point that Boethius, and by extension the Stoics, are making. Happiness is temporary, but that doesn't mean we just sulk and become a nihilist. Instead, we accept and embrace life for it's changing and often unpredictable nature, enjoying every moment of happiness that we get, no matter how short it may be.
But still worth questioning. Is there anything embedded in the workings of the universe that says things governed by chance cannot be the source of happiness? Why not? Because we don’t like to acknowledge that our happiness can go away in a heart beat? It seems a glaringly black-and-white, hence immature, remark. It surprises me to see this idea sift through the critical-thinking filter of acutely observant minds.
Our ability to use reason is not governed by chance -at the very least, not by chance alone. It is one thing we could rely on for happiness. Mastering one's self, as I think Stoicism would suggest, is mastering one's ability to see reality in a reasonable way. It would add to serenity and stave off the illusions of chance.
But mastering one’s self is also an endless journey, as we seem to always be biased towards some kind of end or side in a conflict, whether we acknowledge so with our reasoning or not.
Jesus Christ is the only solid foundation for life
Apologies for an error in the film: towards the start, we say that Boethius translated Plato and Aristotle from Latin into Greek. It should - of course - be the other way around. Sorry!
The School of Life so... Plato and Aristotle translated Boethius from Latin into Greek, or Plato and Aristotle translated Boethius from Greek into Latin, or Boethius translated Plato and Aristotle from Greek into Latin..?
And dont be sorry, I love your channel ❤️ :D
Nishant Jayant Gilatar boethius translated plato and a... From Greek to latin, the Roman empire lifted up after the fall of greece
Lol i asummed that
Just curious -- at 1:56 you state that Boethius was 'entirely innocent' -- would be very grateful if you or someone else would direct me to evidence for such a claim -- had always been my understanding that scholars did not know the extent of his involvement in the plot against Theodoric
I like it when you say that philosophy shouldn't be a academic game but a practical tool for everybody. Philosophy makes us look with wonder to the world, thereby it gives us deep insights and offers sustainable happiness. Therefore philosophy is not only valuable for intellectual academics, but for every thinking creature. With greetings from Holland ;)
Well said!
Sustainable happiness. Deep.
Classical philosophy will lead you to that Wellspring of Eudaimonia within yourself.
Well I don’t think anyone said what or what not philosophy “should be”. Rather, they say what philosophy “is”. They draw a distinction that there is the academic philosophy and the philosophy one can apply directly to their lives.
In modern thought, Jim Rohn so wisely said, *Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.* ... Because you yourself, your body and your work ethics, are your own fortune.
Finally philosophy is back.
olenna natsu It never went away: philosophical concepts are the foundation underlying all the output of this channel. It's the strongly applied nature of TSoL's output that makes it so different and useful to philosophers and non-philosphers alike, at least in my opinion.
That`s true. Most of their videos are philosophical in nature. I was referring to the more academic part of the philosophy videos they used to make long ago.
it's always been there :) It's the philosophers who started not to show up anymore.
As a Philosophy major that was told by everyone, including my own family, that Philosophy was useless, I cheer it's return.
@@luigipati3815 That's always because they were ignored or even executed, like Socrates.
Boethius' own life and his book are very much a companion book of the Book of Job.
I happened on Boethius when I was in a real bad way (unemployed, no classes, relationship just ended, etc.). He will always be a role model of mine for the things he was able to observe in the face of the things to which he was subject. A true philosopher king, whose words stretched way down from his pedestal of suffering to my comparably tiny troubles.
Happiness cannot consist in things governed by chance.'
So powerful.
My mother had spent two weeks in jail in Mecca. She never calls from nowhere, so we had no idea until she came back and told us the story. Well, I wondered how a woman in her sixties could endure being imprisoned unfairly in a foreign country where she didn't know anybody, didn't speak the language, and didn't know when she was going to be free again!
When I asked her she said:
" That place had its own harmony. Worldly life cannot delude you in prison".
Well, she thought that not Fortuna but Allah ( it is all the same ) had arranged this for her, to try her. I must say that she did very well. She told me that a week later a man from the Turkish embassy visited her. And when he asked her how she was doing she said:
" I am innocent, I don't belong here.But I am very fine. I am observing the people around."
I thought it was really admirable. But here is the thing: if you are not a believer, the real challenge is to cultivate the same strength within yourself, despite NOT having a God to trust...
2. So in this case, if you wish to build your own "inner citadel", and develop your
" fate independent mental powers", another great book can help enormously: " The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain de Botton ( the narrator in this video and the founder of this channel )
That's the one book that taught me to love philosophy! I always get back to it.
There he offers us the help of six philosophers in all these areas:
Socrates on Self Confidence
Epicurus on Happiness
Seneca on Anger
Montaigne on Self-Esteem
Schopenhauer on Love
Nietzsche on Hardship
He made a documentary about each of them too. They are on his other youtube channel with these titles. Don't miss them! They all have a life changing quality. You'll learn a lot, laugh a lot and you will find real consolation.
3. Another book that came to my mind is:
"The Sixteenth Round, From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472"
written by Rubin " Hurricane " Carter, a middleweight boxer at the top of his career, who was wrongfully convicted and had to spend almost 20 years in prison. Bob Dylan's song " Hurricane" tells his story.
I have put the book in my reading list after watching the excellent movie, where Denzel Washington plays the Hurricane.
There you will see this man whose life had been stolen from him, reading and writing non stop, talking about Dostoevsky, Emile Zola, Mandela to his visitors.... People like Hurricane are the monuments of human dignity.
And I thought that once on earth my mother was right: "worldly life cannot delude you in prison". That's why these people have the quality of focus and depth they have. There is so much we can learn from them.
I've spent many years of my life in prison, so I know these things first hand...
I'm a Muslim and I went for Umra a year ago in makka... I don't understand how did ur mother get past the security... Even when we were dressed as pilgrims we were thoroughly checked.. please do not take it as a offense but it's just the rule as 6 km radius around Makkah is not a sight seeing place but a holy warship place for us.
@@atiqshahriarshourav2958 Selamun aleykum! Thanks a lot for reading all this. You know, there are these tours in Turkey, that take you there. I know it is not a sight seeing place of course...It is the dream of many muslims, being able to go there just once...My mother is very religious, she had been there over 20 times. But on that ocasion she became the victim of a robery, the police came and as they checked her passport they saw that her visa was already expired. So she was illegal in that moment. That's why she ended up in prison. Anyway, I wish you a nice weekend.
@@brucekern7083 Hello Bruce! I am so sorry to hear that... I hope you are free and you are close to your beloved ones now. You know, one of my heroes is an Afro-American lawyer called Bryan Stevenson. If I had the chance to give one book to everybody in this world, it would be his book
" Just Mercy, A story of Justice and Redemption". The man is a treasure. I have learnt so much from that book... If you wish you can watch him here: czcams.com/video/OUfwI36Fdq8/video.html . Best wishes!
@@ngohai0 Hello there! Thank you so much for reading all this!
I came upon Boethius's book at a time of deep sorrow in my life. It was wonderfully refreshing, and seemed to me full of much common sense as well as a toolkit with which to clamber out of the slough of despond in which I found myself. There seems to be quite a lot of modern psychology in there, and to think that this work was penned in the 6th Century, is utterly amazing.
There's no treasure of wisdom that we should ever be so thankful for as The Consolation of Philosophy.
This is a cute video and I really like the presentation, but I think it needs to be pointed out that Stoicism isn't the only influence in the Consolatio. Boethius uses Stoic ideas as the 'gentle medicine' offered to sooth the prisoner early in the dialogue, but when pressed to go deeper on providence, the problem of evil, and determinism, Lady Philosophy ends up favoring Platonist ideas with vaguely Christian aims.
lol this is a school of life video, a modern motivational speaker forum that tries to subvert classical philosophy for marketing purposes. it's even worse than appeal to authority it's falsification by obscurement.
You are absolutely right the primary influence was NOT Stoicism...rather it was (as is well-known) Plato
Finally, some more straight up philosophy!
I'm so glad this series is back - I can't wait to hear more. The way these videos make the wisdom of old so accessible, relevant and easy to absorb help me hugely
inner citadel? I had no idea that another person than myself had this comforting concept - how interesting
@James Rothering 💭
The curriculum is one of my favorite things to come out of the internet in these past few years. Thank you so much for continuing to add to this enlightening project.
I am currently reading The Consolation of Philosophy and finding much truth and solace in it. Thank you for the great video!
Your videos always illuminate my day. Thank you for all you do. I just bought your Great Thinkers book and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I am just thrilled with your educational videos on philosophy and philosophers and everyday dilemmas ! Thank you.
The true happiness can be achieved only through wisdom.
These are, hands down, the best videos of the channel!
Wonderful! Thanks for creating this. I wondered when Boethius would appear. Educating and opening up a world of great writers who many may not know about.
Thank you Mr De Botton.
There's lady philosophy in every single one of us; we just need to think and listen.
That's sexist
@@user-sb8ks1ij7b joking
Yes! Call on your Inner Sophia.
to say, these videos are helpful, is an understatement. to say, these videos are very enjoyable, is an understatement. to say, that alains narration is so beautiful, is an understatement.
thank you so much!
I can't get enough of your philosophy videos, thank you 🤗👏
Lady Philosophy visited me too, she wanted me to walk, now in my mind we are strolling with these lovely ideas that you've presented me with.
That was beautiful
I live for these particular videos that sheds light into histories greatest minds. And the literary figures videos are also very stimulating. ❤❤❤❤
Could you do more philosophical videos please.And it would be really interesting to see some philosophers from Asia or middle Eastern countries.I would especially like to see a video about Rumi on your channel.Bc the world had/has great thinkers not just from Europe and America but from all around the world.😍
Averroes or Avicenna
You can do a search for Asian/Mideast philosophers or buy/check-out/download books
Love,absolutely love this channel.
This video made my week and got me going on the right track again. So good! 👍👍
Oooo. One of my favourite philosophy texts. This and Meditations.
I bought the book and I am reading it now. It is AMAZING! Worth every penny. Thank you.
I read this book many years ago. It's very good especially when going through rough times.
A beautiful description of what Lady Philosophy can doo for us in the face of Dame Fortuna's blandishments. Thank you.
this is absolutely fantastic and eye opening insight. thank you so much for this enlightening summary!!
" - and she has come to visit Boethius in his cell in order to remind him of some of the fundamental truths of his favourite subject, largely as defined by the Stoic school of Greece and Rome. " - Boethius was a neoplatonist not stoic philosopher. Also Later Stoicism was influenced by middle platonism. Concept of difference beetween Providence (Pronoia) and destiny (heimarmene) was work out by Plotinus in Ennead III.2 and III,3
The concept of arisig above was based at the metaphysical concept of selfsufficiency, simplicity, as defined in Enneads (asimilation to The One, henosis).
It is also implicit in universal, speculative teleological statement:
"Then all things seek the good,
which you may in fact describe as being the good itself
which should be longed for by all.""
which is very similiar to Ennead 1.7 and VI.9
But generally i like Your work.
i have read this book for my acient philosophy course's essay. It is such a great book. Highly recommended
I am beyond this part now. It is our destiny to be put down from our fortune and that shouldn't let us demotivate us from following the things we in our most childish state wanted to. Resorting to our inner citadel is completely wrong if one is very respectful towards the history and nature. The power that makes us awesome is not the nirvana we can achieve by giving up our sins. It is the power of drama and adventure that comes from within us by keep standing up from every fall of fortune. A life not lived is a life never lived.
So EXCELLENT! I LOVED IT!!!! You got my attention and the bell ring!
Gives a new meaning to some of the mythical aspects of the Elder Scrolls games with for example Boethia :)
What a soothing voice.... Love it!
Great introduction, thank you for this!. I'm sure someone else said this before, but Boethius did not translate Plato and Aristotle from Latin into Greek, but vice versa (0:56).
Very deep. Great post...thank you for sharing.👏👏👏👏👏👏
aaaah, i missed this kind of video! thank you TSOL 🙌🏾
Another great School of Life video. Thank you
This has been the most relatable video for me in my history of philosophical talks 😍😍😍😭😭
Yes! These types of videos were really missed
Thank you! Fortuna has not allowed me anything in this life, only the hope of something in the future. It's better to make our purpose in life to exist in the present moment, no matter what that moment may hold. So long as we think that life should be this or that more, we will either be lucky enough to attain it or we will suffer. It is not up to us, no matter how hard we try to achieve anything. It's not wrong to reach for something more but life doesn't always give us what we wish to attain.
Thank you for speaking more quickly. I've been watching these at 1.25 speed.
Estoy atravesando una encrucijada personal y esto me ha ayudado a enfocarme en lo que realmente importa. Gracias.
I think that Fortuna can take everything a from us. We are subject to the constant, never-ending changing state of affairs after all. Our minds can deplore, we may lose loved ones, we change our minds, we fall in and out of love. Nothing is static. One would think the best thing for us would be to understand and accept that life is constantly changing, nothing is definitive, and that is very scary to be honest, but common. Change can be sad and painful but it can also be beautiful. It's hard to wrap your head around things sometimes but the healthiest thing we can do is trust that whoever/whatever brings change, does it for the better, because everything happens for a reason even if we can't understand it straight away.
Boethius is also mentioned frequently in one of the most hilarious works of fiction I've ever read, A Confederacy of Dunces. (Highly recommend!)
Just started reading him. Great videos. Thank you
One of TSOL’s best videos
Perhaps better call Lady Philosophy "amoral" rather than "immoral"?
...and perhaps better not pass over that Boethius was a Christian himself, author of important Christian treatises, and regarded as a saint in the Churches. In the Consolatio, God is argued as the true, non-random power of man's life, and Boethius' reconciliation of Stoicism with Christian doctrine led to the scholastic Christianity of Aquinas.
thank you for your Bias, Alain!! I love this chanel!
This is basically the message of the book of Job in the Old Testament. We are all at God's mercy and it's a mistake to believe we are owed anything that we have or desire. Everything is a gift, temporarily bestowed by God. We should praise him for every moment he blesses us and expect that it may be taken from us at his whim... that's the message anyway.
Finally .. an addition to that fine collection
I'm glad philosophy is back x
Excellent content as usual. Keep em comin
Our philosophical growth is what can achieve for us the true internal serenity.
His philosophy is much like Buddhism in its rejection of being attached to the things which inevitably bring pain. To have an inner citadel or center which can bring consolation to anyone, like the moneyless monks reflecting on life.
He was Christian, which has been pretty much rubbed out from this video.
Wow. I wish Boethius had been included in my Western Civ readings decades ago. Thanks!!!!
Botton, you are amazing ! 😀👏👋
These videos are terrific.
I gotta say, it's not "how little of our lives is in our hands", we hold a big chunk of our lives to make our future. That's why, when you find yourself in a thorny road, look back on the past road that you have walked, because it is your leg that lead you to that path to that road, you chose that road yourself. Remember you have the opportunity or privilege to sculpt your own future and be grateful for it. When you find yourself in a thorny road, learn from it so later you won't found yourself walking to the same thorny road.
While there might be some who will say that they don't have the opportunity and the privilege to make their own choice, I hope you won't give up on looking on other choice and push yourself on pursuing it (good thing of course)
To Fortuna and Lady Philosophy, life's outer and inner teachers.....lovely video on a harsh topic.
This has got to be the best SoL video ever.
Thank you for this new tool.
I needed this. Thanks
Brilliant!! Thank you very much you are awesome
I also missed Philosophy on School of Life... great that "its" back (to the roots :) )
I appreciate the greater ability to recover from hardship that this would convey, but it also tells us to not seek things that would objectively make us safer and happier. Maybe you'll say that this is only a misinterpretation, but it seems to be a strong implication: why seek what can never be yours (permanently)? Of course life isn't permanent- yes things can be taken away, but our temporary lives would be empty without things like love, money, and greater stability. They don't need to last forever to be important.
I think it's more about having the right understanding of those things?
This is excellent and coincidentally comes at the perfect time. Thank you. It does seem even more extreme than stoicism. I think I will stick with everyday endurance because regardless of what lady philosophy says, he did physically have a wife and two sons and then he did not. He could have comforted himself remembering that they did belong to him and that, philosophically, that continued even though he could not see them.
Damn, I needed this!
Thank you very much
wonderful! thanks!
How similar the teachings of Lady Philosophy is to Buddha's. It is amazing how people of different cultures and origins independently come to the same conclusion on life.
Thank you !!
I legit reading this book for my philosophy class rn..
I LOVE Philosophy works!!!
I missed this kind of videos on this channel
Recently started reading this book i didn't underdtabd it came to youtube and yep my fav channel has the explanation
Wonderful.
Great video, as usual!
We would do well to remember, and reflect on these words, as well:
"Ye of little faith...You shall do all these things and more."
"Seek and ye shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened. Ask, and ye shall receive."
And from Heraclitus, as quoted by Shakespeare:
"There is more to heaven and earth than is contained in your philosophy."
And from Hellen Keller:
"Life is a daring adventure, or nothing."
As Thoreau said (and yes, it is my favourite quote):
"There is more day yet to dawn. The sun is but a morning star."
Amen.
Very well said...
I fuckn like this guy's explanations of this stuff...Thanks a lot, Alain.
The stuff about fortune is only the first two books of five, less than half of it. Boethius also attacks the stoics by name in the book, saying that they and the epicureans tore the garments of Lady Philosophy and deceived themselves into thinking that they possessed the whole of philosophy.
this video is my new favorite!
"Boethius's wisdom was to be the last eloquent outcry of the guiding ideas of classical philosophy, and in particular it's Stoic branch. Thereafter, Christianity subsumed its insights..."
This is untrue. I've noticed this often in productions by the School of Life: there is a strong aversion to Christianity, and religion in general, and a reluctance to give credit where credit is due. Boethius was a devout Christian; he wrote theological treatises which would be seminal for later medieval Trinitarian theology. His affinity for Stoic philosophy was not unique: every major Christian thinker until the late medieval era praised Stoicism for its ethics and Platonism for its metaphysics. Boethius himself would be celebrated well beyond the medieval era. Boethius was not a classical Stoic philosopher whose teachings were subsumed by later Christians; he was a devout Catholic whose philosophical teachings REPRESENTED Christian philosophy.
Thank you for saying this
Okay! I have English exam tomorrow, wish me luck!!!
Prosaic Lambda good luck
Prosaic Lambda What is your native language?
Nepali
But this is not included in typical english class
Prosaic Lambda So my language is not English that's why I don't understand this video.How about you,do you understand this video?
Please start making more videos like this again.
I usually don't write comments but ya... This past year destroyed me mentally and it seems as if everything is falling apart around me. I went to multiple therapy sessions and that made things worse. Getting this book after watching this video and reading it made me feel the most peaceful I've felt in months. Thank you.
Hello there. I am very sorry to hear that you had gone through all that. There is a podcast called" On Being with Krista Tippett" and her interview with David Steidl Rast helped me a lot. He is a 90 year old Benedictan monk who had survived the Second World War. In that interview he tells us that times of crisis can be very valuable, since they help us grow.
Here is the link:
onbeing.org/programs/david-steindl-rast-anatomy-of-gratitude/
The book " The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain de Botton ( the narrator and the founder of this channel ) is also very beautiful and helpful.
Have a nice day :-)
thank you. I'll check it out right now!
and I'm reading the Richard H. Green translation of "The consolation of Philosophy" and I enjoy it so far.
Good morning. I have read Alain de Botton's "The Consolations of Philosophy" and had the chance to watch his documentaries on his other youtube channel, but I haven't read Boethius' book yet. So I will look for the translation you have mentioned. Thank you :- )
Perfect video!
Please do Hermann Hesse!
Yeah, I was recently reading his books. Please!!! Make a video about him.
Yesssss please
The Glass Bead Game! ♥️
The Glass Bead Game features a short story about Maya. It aligns with Boethius' not depending on chance for ones happiness.
Glad to see a curriculum video. It has been nearly a year since the last one on Emil Cioran appeared. I would like to see more of them. How about one on Dante or Stendhal?
your videos inspired me to study philosohpy , and now im dreaming to go to a philosophy college :)