Revisiting Happiness: A Critique of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

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After reading Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy it became evident to me that Lady Philosophy believes that people from long ago are happier than people of today because there were less luxuries to tempt them. This can be seen when Lady Philosophy says “Men were most happy in former ages, content with the yield of fertile fields, and not yet ruined by indolent luxury”(Pg 33).She came to this conclusion by reasoning that happiness cannot be found in material possessions and therefore people who have less material possessions should be happier. However, I do not agree with this idea. I believe that Lady Philosophy is incorrect because I think that desire is always equal throughout time and because you can find happiness through material
We can find happiness through material things because we use many things in our lives to reach the happiness that Lady Philosophy describes. She states that happiness can only be found in God, but many people use material things in order to find God. Many people of the Catholic faith use their rosaries as a form of prayer in order to find and feel closer to God. Another material possession that is used by many people is holy water. Numerous children and adults are baptized in this holy water in order to find God and many families keep this water in their home in order to cleanse themselves of sin and reach God. Money could also be one of the things that can help people feel closer to God in that giving the money to the church helps them feel closer to God or in turn help others find God. This money can also lead to another material possession that aids people in the quest for God, a church. A place of worship is a location in which many people can go to in order to build and fortify their relationship with God. Although all these things are material and are changing they assist people in finding the path to God which is true

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