Boethius' Theodicy: Fortune and Her Wheel

I read Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy for my Medieval Heroes and Villains class about whether Fortune, personified as a woman who doles out good or bad fortunes depending on the random spin of her wheel, is a force for good or evil. Boethius, being a Christian, wrestles with this very question, revealing his own theodicy, i.e. how he reconciles evil in the world with an all-good God. Boethius, a once influential and righteous man, was sentenced to death after supposedly be falsely accused of conspiring with the Eastern Roman Empire.

In The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius is grieving over his death sentence when Philosophy, a woman, appears to him to console him. Rather than fixing his environmental problems, she instead lifts him from his sorrows by critiquing and correcting the way he is inwardly viewing his situation and how he came to be “punished” for being a wise and moral man. Philosophy deduces that at the root of his suffering is confusion regarding his nature (Book I: VI).

Indeed, in Book II Philosophy proposes that Boethius believes that he has truly lost his good fortune. However, she also points out that this is untrue to the nature of Fortune (like Philosophy, personified as a woman):

If you recall to mind her character, her methods, and the kind of favour she proffers, you will see that in her you did not have and did not lose anything of value.
(Book II: I)

Philosophy challenges Boethius’ notion that good fortune is truly his. If it belongs to Fortune and her wheel of chance, how can he be upset when Fortune does what it is her nature demands, which is to change (Book II: I)? Therefore Boethius is being foolish for wishing for Fortune to act against the nature he knows she has.

This, however, bring up this important question: is Fortune a force of good or evil in the lives of men? From the text, it would appear that she is indeed a force of goodness. In chapter II of Book II Philosophy argues in Fortune's stead, and reminds Boethius that:

When nature brought you forth from your mother’s womb I received you naked and devoid of everything and fed from my own resources.
(Book II: II)

It is fortune that allows for men to experience physical blessings to begin with. Even Fortune’s nature to change from “good” to “bad” is put into good light, for without this possibility of change hope for better things could not exist (Book II: II).

Fortune is only perceived as a bad thing when one mistakes her blessings as a source of happiness. Philosophy argues that the root to goodness is happiness, and Fortune can never be the true path to happiness due to her ever changing nature (Book II: IV). She reaffirms that it is our perception of what good fortune is in life that makes it bad for us. She even flips the usual perception on itself and claims that bad fortune can actually be more beneficial to us since it encourages understanding of reality, such as who one’s true friends are willing to be loyal despite bad fortune, in contrast to good fortune which deceives one to the true nature of his friends, as many appear to be friends to those they perceive as fortunate in order to put themselves in a situation where they could possibly profit (Book II: VIII). This contrast points to the irony that it is bad fortune that reveals one of the most valuable blessings: true friendship.

Book III explores the nature of God, concluding that he is both pure goodness and omnipotent. Towards the end of Book III, Philosophy uses these conclusions to say something about the nature of evil itself. She argues if God is all powerful, then he can do everything. However, God cannot do evil; therefore evil is nothing (Book III: XII). This applies to Fortune as well as God. Fortune is shown to be a source of blessings and hope, despite her changing nature and the resulting bad fortune. And if God is assumed to be the creator of all things (Book I: VI), then his creation and design, including Fortune, are all good. It is one’s perception of the nature of things that makes it bad.

Therefore for Boethius, it is Fortune who works as fate to dole out "good" and "bad" fortune, but neither is truly good or bad. The perception of evil is only ignorance in the human mind, unaware of the ways of their perfect creator. Our liberation in faith does not come from promises of Heaven or Hell, but rather through true happiness that comes through experiencing the world as God does.

For those who are curious, Books IV and V work to further break down the mechanism that is personified by Fortune. Philosophy looks into the nature of Fate, distinguishing it from Providence. Providence is the simple plan of God through a chaotic medium that we call Fate. This of course brings up the seemingly paradox of fate coexisting with free will (Book V). Philosophy challenges Boethius' perception of understanding. While we are temporal beings who only experience the present, God is an eternal being that experiences all simultaneously outside of time. Therefore his will (Providence) is penetrating all the willed actions that we make, since we do make decisions on a timeline. We have will, but God sees all wills as happening at once, so he can work through our wills without creating them. Here are the closing remarks of Philosophy:

Hope is not placed in God in vain and prayers are not made in vain, for if they are the right kind they cannot but be efficacious. Avoid vice, therefore, and cultivate virtue; lift up your mind to the right kind of hope, and put forth humble prayers on high. A great necessity is laid upon you, if you will be honest with yourself, a great necessity to be good, since you live in the sight of a judge who see all things.
(Book V: VI)