Book contents
- Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Cambridge Critical Guides
- Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations of Boethius’ Works
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Boethius’ Philosophiae consolatio
- Chapter 2 The Ascent from Π to θ, or On Philosophy’s Teaching a Blind Man to See
- Chapter 3 Lady Philosophy as a Feminine Personification of Wisdom
- Chapter 4 Boethius’ Christianity in the Consolatio
- Chapter 5 The Blending of Pagan and Christian Elements in Book III of the Consolatio
- Chapter 6 The Human Person in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 7 Self-Investigation, Self-Knowledge, and Inner Conflict in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 8 What It Means to Be a God
- Chapter 9 A Consolation through Philosophical Insight?
- Chapter 10 Being and Existence in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 11 Circle and Sphere Metaphors for God’s Nature and Providence in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and Dionysius’ On Divine Names
- Chapter 12 Time and Eternity in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 13 Boethius on Human Freedom and Divine Foreknowledge
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Critical Guides
Chapter 11 - Circle and Sphere Metaphors for God’s Nature and Providence in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and Dionysius’ On Divine Names
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 May 2024
- Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Cambridge Critical Guides
- Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations of Boethius’ Works
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Boethius’ Philosophiae consolatio
- Chapter 2 The Ascent from Π to θ, or On Philosophy’s Teaching a Blind Man to See
- Chapter 3 Lady Philosophy as a Feminine Personification of Wisdom
- Chapter 4 Boethius’ Christianity in the Consolatio
- Chapter 5 The Blending of Pagan and Christian Elements in Book III of the Consolatio
- Chapter 6 The Human Person in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 7 Self-Investigation, Self-Knowledge, and Inner Conflict in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 8 What It Means to Be a God
- Chapter 9 A Consolation through Philosophical Insight?
- Chapter 10 Being and Existence in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 11 Circle and Sphere Metaphors for God’s Nature and Providence in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and Dionysius’ On Divine Names
- Chapter 12 Time and Eternity in the Consolation of Philosophy
- Chapter 13 Boethius on Human Freedom and Divine Foreknowledge
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Critical Guides
Summary
While it is common to compare Boethius’ philosophy with that of his intellectual predecessors and heirs, as far as I know there are no studies comparing Boethius and his most well-known Greek contemporary, Dionysius the Areopagite. Yet both were Christians who were inspired by Plato and deeply influenced by Proclean Neoplatonism. This chapter begins to fill this lacuna in the literature by comparing the way that Boethius in the Consolation of Philosophy and Dionysius in On Divine Names employ key Neoplatonic ideas and metaphors in speaking and thinking about God’s nature and providence. The chapter compares how Boethius and Dionysius employ Neoplatonic sphere and circle metaphors (1) to illustrate how God is both completely simple and yet also has, or rather is, a multiplicity of “attributes” or activities, and (2) to articulate the relationship between God and creatures in terms of remaining, proceeding, and reverting.
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- Boethius’ ‘Consolation of Philosophy’A Critical Guide, pp. 186 - 201Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
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