The Pursuit Of Happiness, The Real Good In Life, By Boethius

The pursuit of happiness is perhaps Man’s longest and most desired journey in life. Many philosophers throughout the ages have nonetheless defined happiness in different ways than one another. Some have argued that happiness can be found by pursuing one’s desired goals, others have said that happiness is a mere ideological concept that can only be achieved when one’s state of mind is rightly structured. In spite of disagreements between philosophers, many have focused on the concept of external goods, where some view it essential to happiness and others did not. No one can deny the pleasure that can be acquired from receiving a multi-million dollar check, nor can anyone deny the joy in owning an expensive luxurious car. The question is however, is this type of pleasure and happiness the real “Good” in life, is it

Many ancient philosophers such as Boethius and Seneca do not think agree with the previous statement. Both have advocated for a life disconnected from the lust of external goods. Boethius makes a strong case against specific possessions in life. To him, the problem with the pursuit of happiness is that such a concept is very vague, people simply end up end up being misguided and find false truth in external goods. Notably, Boethius does acknowledge that the quest for happiness is a natural habit for human beings, but people are simply trumped by false expectations of what happiness truly is . In Book 3 of his book “The Consolation of Philosophy,” he states that money and riches are poisonous and explicitly declares attributes that come along with them, such as honor and wealth, as harmful and inadequate to true happiness. To him, a person that does not have, is better off than a person that does. His logic follows the concept of attachment. Those who do not have money, are not attached to it, and those who have money will be overwhelmed with