Episode #017 ... Boethius

Today we talk about Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five. How war stories can distort the reality of war, how trauma can fracture our experience of time and identity, and why Billy Pilgrim becomes attracted to the strange philosophy of the Tralfamadorians. Hope you love it. : ...  عرض المزيد

Today we talk more about Peter Sloterdijk’s book You Must Change Your Life. We talk about Heidegger, the subject-object view of the world, how environments form us, symbolic immunity, modern cynicism, vertical tension, base camps, civilizations as collective immune systems, and w ...  عرض المزيد

In the twilight of the Western Empire, Boethius (c. 476-523) served as consul, but ended his life imprisoned by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric, writing The Consolation of Philosophy. Episode 103 Quiz https://literatureandhistory.com/quiz-103/ Episode 103 Transcription: https://li ...  عرض المزيد

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the consolation of Philosophy. In the 6th century AD, a successful and intelligent Roman politician called Boethius found himself unjustly accused of treason. Trapped in his prison cell, awaiting a brutal execution, he found solace in philosophical ...  عرض المزيد

The Roman statesman Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy around the year 524 when he was incarcerated. It advises that fame and wealth are transitory and explores the nature of happiness and belief. Former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway has been wrestling with the w ...  عرض المزيد

Boethius ushers in the medieval age with expert works on Aristotle, subtle treatises on theology, and the Consolation of Philosophy, written while he awaited execution.