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Single Idea 5763
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / a. Nature of virtue
]
Full Idea
The supreme good is the goal of good men and bad men alike, and the good seek it by means of a natural activity - the exercise of virtue - while the bad strive to acquire it by means of their desires, which is not a natural way of obtaining the good.
Gist of Idea
The bad seek the good through desire, but the good through virtue, which is more natural
Source
Boethius (The Consolations of Philosophy [c.520], IV.II)
Book Ref
Boethius: 'The Consolations of Philosophy', ed/tr. Watts,V.E. [Penguin 1969], p.120
A Reaction
Interesting here is the slightly surprising claim that the pursuit of virtue is 'natural', implying that the mere pursuit of desire is not. Doesn't nature have to be restrained to achieve the good? Boethius is in the tradition of Aristotle and stoicism.
The
24 ideas
from Boethius
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15035
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If universals are not separate, we can isolate them by abstraction
[Boethius, by Panaccio]
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23308
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Reasoning relates to understanding as time does to eternity
[Boethius, by Sorabji]
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5752
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Where does evil come from if there is a god; where does good come from if there isn't?
[Boethius]
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5753
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The regular events of this life could never be due to chance
[Boethius]
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5754
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You can't control someone's free mind, only their body and possessions
[Boethius]
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5756
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Happiness is a good which once obtained leaves nothing more to be desired
[Boethius]
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5757
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God is the supreme good, so no source of goodness could take precedence over God
[Boethius]
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5758
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God is the good
[Boethius]
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5759
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Varied aims cannot be good because they differ, but only become good when they unify
[Boethius]
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5761
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God can do anything, but he cannot do evil, so evil must be nothing
[Boethius]
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5760
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The power through which creation remains in existence and motion I call 'God'
[Boethius]
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5763
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The bad seek the good through desire, but the good through virtue, which is more natural
[Boethius]
|
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5762
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The wicked want goodness, so they would not be wicked if they obtained it
[Boethius]
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5764
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When people fall into wickedness they lose their human nature
[Boethius]
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5765
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The reward of the good is to become gods
[Boethius]
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5766
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If you could see the plan of Providence, you would not think there was evil anywhere
[Boethius]
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16692
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Divine eternity is the all-at-once and complete possession of unending life
[Boethius]
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5767
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Rational natures require free will, in order to have power of judgement
[Boethius]
|
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5769
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Does foreknowledge cause necessity, or necessity cause foreknowledge?
[Boethius]
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5768
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God's universal foreknowledge seems opposed to free will
[Boethius]
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5770
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Rewards and punishments are not deserved if they don't arise from free movement of the mind
[Boethius]
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5771
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Knowledge of present events doesn't make them necessary, so future events are no different
[Boethius]
|
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14665
|
We can call the quality of Plato 'Platonity', and say it is a quality which only he possesses
[Boethius]
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16661
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There are two sorts of category - referring to things, and to circumstances of things
[Boethius]
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