Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was a Roman politician and theorist of the early 6th century. He is known as the most vital mediator amid antediluvian philosophy, and the Latin Middle Ages, with an ability to create theoretical concepts that are vivid and relevant to a broader community. One of his famous works is ‘Consolation of Philosophy.’ Boethius was imprisoned after being alleged of treason, and a plot to defeat King Theodoric the Great, and was later executed in 524 AD (Boethius). Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, was a German philosopher of the late 19th century, born in 1844. He is known for thought-provoking the bases of Christianity and customary ethics. His impression of life-affirmation, which encompasses a direct inquiry into all doctrines that drain life’s sprawling vitalities, is fundamental, although his thoughts are socially predominant. Nietzsche influenced many in the 20th century, and he died in 1900 (Marty). Both philosophers had different views concerning the existence of God and the concept of human morality humanity which shall be looked at in this essay.
Does God Exist?
Nietzsche: God is dead, and this belief conveys a joyful knowledge to the knower. Human beings have found the actuality of God as unfortified and objectionable since his demise gives us the free will to become deities ourselves.
1. God doesn’t die unaccompanied. Instead, he tags along reason, meaning, and morality. When the writer is absent, the story ceases to have meaning. Additionally, morality turns out to be a misconception, and proper decision a mere understanding when God is not alive, thus equaling purely individual perception. Consider vulturine birds prowling on sheep. Their deed is neither good nor evil, as the vultures are just performing by their nature. Therefore, morality is extraneous. About human origin, in an atheist world, freehand evolutionary courses are the only game that occurs. There is no essential link amongst survival and reality since a purely realistic world would be one whereby, endurance would be obstructed, rather than supported by the awareness of the fact (Blount).
2. Liberated into Slavery. Neither intellectual, connotation, principles or God compels us. Thus, we are at liberty to live as we delight (Blount).
Boethius:
“God, the beauty of the world is your beauty; your mind is the source of its grandeur as you shaped it to your inkling, imposing upon it your order, which harmonizes the many elements that compose it, the cold with the fiery hot, the dry with the wet, lest any fly off on its own and unbalances the equipoise of creation. “ (III, ix, pg. 84) (Duncombe).
1. The reality of faultiness. Human beings do not come to perfection. Considering that they can make out imperfection, denotes there exists definitive flawlessness against which everything is likened to. Whatsoever is flawed is so for the reason that it is wanting in certain ways, and falls short of faultlessness. God is the final rightness, compared to all that is lacking in the universe. Our acknowledgment of Him assists us to detect imperfections as the existence of errors.
2. Nature is ordered. God is the author and sustainer of the universe, and this is clearly seen from the reality of prevalent and natural tensions, unifying and remaining in that state. Minus the adhesive that holds the cosmos together, the different components of the environment would slit each other apart, and the capacity to remain in an organized motion would cease.
The concept of Human Morality
Nietzsche:
Present humanity does not identify itself, and the indispensable facts human beings consent to regarding the world are wrong, and a diversion from a careful exploration of the roots, or genealogy of morals. Moral truths do not exist, and there is not anything in nature that has worth in itself. Good or evil is a fragment of human misapprehensions and falsehoods in which they find obligatory to exist in (Caldwell). Man requires to add-on reality by a model world of his own construction, meaning, he is forced by his biological nature to view the world through ethical lenses, judging in the position of good and bad. The will is neither unrestricted nor unfree, but somewhat, sturdy or feeble. The human spirit has the highest portion of its action being insentient and unfelt. The body acts, and the mental faculty incorrectly usurps the deed for its own justificatory resolves; thus human beings end up cheating themselves(Caldwell).
Boethius:
Human beings have moral accountability before God. Free will is a crucial component of ethical obligation, and God holds unfailing omniscience. While humanity identifies only rendering to the five senses, God’s insight can see those occurrences with uncertain outcomes. God knows all happenings concurrently, and thus, His foresight is basically a reflection of the present. Without sincere human autonomy, there can be no morality, no faith in meaningful redemption, and no actual communication with the divinity(Cahrlotte).
Conclusion
Nietzsche’s way leads to woe, pain, and death, rather than a blessing, comfort, and life. Boethius’ methodology appeals to human involvement because it is evident that individuals live in an imperfect world, full of pressure, yet lingers to function in an organized manner. This line of reasoning enables people to see the conflict in existence among many things in the world without external interventions.
Works Cited
Blount, Douglas. What Nietzsche meant When He Said 'God is Dead'. 25 July 2016. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-nietzsche-meant-when-he-said-god-is-dead/. 7 May 2018.
Boethius, Ancius. Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. 19 July 2016. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/boethius/. 7 May 2018.
Cahrlotte, Vardy. Boethius proved that God's omnicience is compatible with human free will. 20 October 2017. https://divinityphilosophy.net/2017/10/20/boethius-proved-that-gods-omniscience-is-compatible-with-human-free-will-discuss-40/. 7 May 2018.
Caldwell, Rodger. Nietzsche and Morality. 17 February 2013. https://philosophynow.org/issues/70/Nietzsche_and_Morality. 7 May 2018.
Duncombe, DF. Boethus and the Purpose of Life. 20 September 2014. http://www.silencelikethunder.com/boethius-discovers-the-key-to-happiness.html. 7 May 2018.
Marty, Jean-Marc. Nietzsce's Life and Works. 8 May 2017. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-life-works/. 7 May 2018.
