McMahon 1

Rio McMahon
Professor Dennis Cronan
Core Humanities 201
21 April 2013
The Material World vs. Happiness
The concept of happiness is one that has plagued philosophers since the beginning
of time. What it is, why it exists, and how one attains it have all been questions many
people have tried and ultimately failed to answer. One reason for this can be derived from
the methods that people try to attain happiness: material wealth. In the 21st century, the
world is filled with materialistic people. This can be in part blamed upon our society that
is constantly bombarding us with advertisements, although it is likely due to people
mistaking material wealth with happiness and fulfillment. The ancient roman philosopher
Boethius wrote thoroughly on this topic, affirming that the nature of fortune is more a
burden than a bestowance upon a human being and that true happiness is much more
difficult to attain than previously thought.
In the Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius argues that wealth is incapable of
giving happiness and that it only has value when transferred, meaning that any
acquisition of wealth negatively impacts another. Moreover, the consequences described
in the Consolation can be greatly seen today, with 21st century America running rampant
with classism and socio-economic discrimination. The issue with wealth as Boethius
describes it is that it adheres to a system of screwing one party over which allows for a
disenfranchised class of people that are taken advantage of by the other, richer class. The
idea of wealth is a particularly troubling one because of the negative externalities

McMahon 2
generated by it in the form of the other class, all in the pursuit of personal happiness
and fulfillment. Wealth, and its usage as a tool for the pursuit of happiness represent a
very troubling scenario in which one party is exploited for the selfish personal purposes
of the other. In arguing that happiness was impossible to attain in an earthly life - much
less via such an erroneous route like wealth Boethius was drawing light to the true
nature of fortune: sadness. There is a certain irony in this realization; because wealth
invokes the feeling exactly opposite than many substitute it for.
Analyzing the ways in which humans utilize their worldly possessions as weak
substitutes for actual fulfillment begs an important question: what is true happiness? This
is a question that proves very difficult to answer, although Boethius makes a decent effort
at defining it. In the Consolation, he argues that happiness is impossible to achieve in an
earthly life because even with any and all material desires fulfilled they will still feel
disquiet and anxiety. Instead, he supposes that happiness is the state of perfection
achieved by the concentration of all goods within it. (3:2:2-4) and that one must devote
all their energy in the pursuit of the final good and none of the lesser goods.
In the Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius poses two interesting questions: What
is the relationship of wealth and happiness and more importantly, what is happiness?
After reading his work, it becomes clear that wealth isnt the correct pathway to
happiness and that happiness is a difficult thing to achieve.