“Yes,”
I said, “that is a true argument, and when I think of the Providence or Fate
about which you have taught me, the conclusion rests upon strong foundations.
But if it please you, let us count it among those conclusions which you a
little while ago set down as inconceivable.”
“Why?”
she asked.
“Because
it is a commonplace saying among men—indeed an especially frequent one—that
some people have bad fortune.”
“Would
you then have us approach more nearly the common conversation of men, lest we
should seem to withdraw too far from human ways?”
“If
you will,” I said.
“Do
you not think that that, which is advantageous, is good?”
“Yes.”
“And
that fortune, which exercises or corrects, is advantageous?”
“I
agree,” said I.
“Then
it is good, is it not?”
“It
must be so.”
—from
Book 4, Prose 7
Nevertheless,
it will take some time for the argument, however simple and direct, to sink in
and do some work on our prejudices. There is a certain irony in how the things
we consciously reflect upon the least will be precisely the ones we take for
granted the most. The more commonly accepted an attitude is, the more likely it
is to be passed over in silence. There is a heavy weight to conformity.
I am hardly
an old man, but in the few dozen times I have circled the Sun, I have seen many
common conceptions come and go. With almost all of them, the discussion would
begin and end with an appeal to popularity. Debate would rely on certain expressions:
“of course”, “obviously”, “that’s unacceptable and offensive”, “only an idiot would
think otherwise”.
How
often do we actually start with self-evident first principles, and then offer a
valid demonstration from them? The disagreements usually arise from confusions
about the terms, or from failing to address the truth or falsehood of the supposed
facts from which we proceed. When people can’t agree on the most basic of
measures, then only the forces of violent opinion can hold sway.
Hence, we
are tempted to pontificate on what is best or worst for society, while we have no
clear conception of what truly benefits or harms the individual members of society.
If I wish to claim it is best for all of us, would it not also require that it is
best for any one of us? When was the last time you heard someone explain what
is good or bad by appealing to the fundamental identity of human nature itself?
Some
begin with wealth, and others begin with power. Some begin with pleasure, and
others begin with fame. In all of those cases, however, the worth of a life is
dependent on what we have outside of ourselves, not who we are
inside of ourselves.
By all
means, hold such positions if you wish, but be expected to reasonably defend
them if you at all can, and also be prepared to find that they will not be as satisfying
as they at first appear.
Boethius,
like other thinkers of the universal wisdom traditions, tries to get beyond the
accidents to the substance. What defines the human person at the core, behind
all the differences we might have?
Only the
other day, I again asked someone that very question, and was once more met with
an empty stare.
The very
fact that I can even ask the question points to one part of the solution, just
as the very fact that I can even answer in different ways points to another
part of the solution.
I know it
sounds terribly old-fashioned, but I am distinctly a creature of reason and of
will, whatever else I may or may not possess. The operation of the former will
shape the exercise of the latter. It is precisely because I have judgment that
I also have freedom.
It is
therefore the perfection of mind and choice, the practice of knowing and
loving, that is able to perfect my nature. Whatever else may happen can only be
considered within that ultimate purpose. My own moral merits are what matter for
finding my happiness.
Do I
already know what I must do? Then all fortune gives me the opportunity to do it.
Do I not
yet know what I must do? The all fortune is able to teach me by correcting me.
This
only seems inconceivable when I do not know who I am. A belief in bad luck only
comes from caring for all the wrong things.
Written in 12/2015
IMAGE: Edward Burne-Jones, The Wheel of Fortune (c. 1883)
No comments:
Post a Comment