ABSTRACT
Based, as it is, on a combination of reason, logic, and poetry, The Consolation of Philosophy reveals a mysterious economy of the soul that yields understanding, fruition, and fulfilment. The main sources drawn on by Boethius are the artistry of Plato, the scientific logic of Aristotle, and the mysticism and reason of Plotinus in addition to Stoic philosophy and Christianity. The structure of The Consolation is built with alternate passages of poetry (song) and prose, creating a wholesome balance between the poetic and the rational, the living and conceptual, in tune with the divided brain theory of Iain McGilchrist. The economy of Consolation is that of the soul, the home of the Human, the oikos, where the pursuit of the Good is the key. The determinant for this is ‘man made in the image of God’. The image of the circle is a central theme reflected in the literary structure. God is the ‘hinge’ and still point of the turning world. The dignity of the human mind and soul argues the need for a human-centred economy. Attention is drawn to the need to return to the broader questions of the philosophers of Ancient Greece who first thought about economics by asking what it takes to live well in human society.
