After Stoicism
After Stoicism
Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher
by Thomas Ward
Couldn't load pickup availability
The Stoic philosophers of antiquity recognized something we often forget. Good fortune does not guarantee happiness, and bad fortune does not guarantee misery.
Boethius was the last philosopher of ancient Rome and a Christian theologian. He was also an illustrious senator who suffered a spectacular reversal of fortune. Falsely accused of treason and sentenced to death, he spent several months in prison awaiting his execution. For consolation he turned to the Stoics he had spent his life studying. They helped him to remember that the good things he once enjoyed—wealth, power, fame—could not make him truly happy. Also, that the injustice he suffered need not make him miserable.
But the Stoics were not the only philosophers Boethius sought for consolation. The Stoics had taught that the highest happiness we can hope for is tranquility—serene indifference despite all the trials of life. But for Boethius, tranquility was not enough. He reached for something beyond Stoicism. Something that promised true happiness, come what may.
This book is a guide through Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy. It shows how Boethius, in his darkest hour, took everything noble from Stoicism and fused it with a rational and religious conviction that there is a hope for happiness through and beyond the suffering of this life.
More Info
More Info
Share
What People are Saying
“After Stoicism is a delightful trip of exploration through a great classic at the hands of a philosophy professor who really knows how to address modern students clearly and winsomely with forgotten classical wisdom that can change lives. Reading it, I felt like a fly on the wall in his classroom.”
—Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College
“Is ancient philosophy relevant to modern life? The recent popular revival of Stoicism would suggest a resounding ‘yes.’ Ward’s After Stoicism builds on this renewed interest and, with Boethius’s Consolation as a guide, helps readers think through where Stoicism helps and where it falls short in addressing life’s biggest questions. It’s a testament to Ward’s skill as a writer and thinker that this book feels weighty and scholarly while also being totally approachable. This is philosophy with a human pulse.”
—Brett McCracken, Senior Editor at The Gospel Coalition
“The sixth century Roman and Christian philosopher Boethius was one of the greatest thinkers the human race has produced. That he and his work are neglected today speaks volumes of the intellectual poverty of our times. I’m delighted that Ward has given us a serious but highly readable new book on Boethius, focusing especially on the contemporary relevance of his ideas.”
—Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
“In this fantastic book, Ward takes us into the death row prison cell of Boethius, the most important philosopher to be executed since Socrates. As he awaited an unjust death penalty, Boethius wrote Consolation, one of the most widely read books for over a thousand years. Ward illuminates Consolation giving us commentary and insight from Dante and Aquinas as well as J.R.R Tolkien and J.K. Rowling. Readers of Boethius will be delighted, edified, and educated by Ward’s well-written work.”
—Chris Kaczor, Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University
