Boethius’s fifth theological tractate Contra Eutychen et Nestorium contains unexplored resources for unpacking Lady Philosophy’s claim in Consolation III that human happiness involves divinization. The tractate’s careful distinction between nature and person offers helpful philosophical constraints on how the divinization of a human being could occur, ruling out interpretations such as pantheism or dissolution of the person. Moreover, its historical context and theological emphasis provide an ex…
Read moreBoethius’s fifth theological tractate Contra Eutychen et Nestorium contains unexplored resources for unpacking Lady Philosophy’s claim in Consolation III that human happiness involves divinization. The tractate’s careful distinction between nature and person offers helpful philosophical constraints on how the divinization of a human being could occur, ruling out interpretations such as pantheism or dissolution of the person. Moreover, its historical context and theological emphasis provide an expanded view of how Boethius thought divinization could be achieved in practice, namely, through the Incarnation of Christ. Lastly, some textual evidence in the Consolation suggests that Boethius himself intended it to reflect the insights he offers in the fifth tractate.
