Philosophy's Consolation: Can We Recover the Love of Wisdom in an Age

of Rampant Fakery?
Laura D'Olimpio

Tuesday 7 March 2017 3:13pm

Laura D'Olimpio is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle. This week, she
and Dr Nin Kirkham are presenting The Minefield to mark International Women's Day.

Our society's obsession with reality television, gossip and drama may explain why we have entered a post-truth age, in
which the emotions and sensations evoked matter more than the facts. An age in which larger than life, egoistical
personalities count for more than intelligence or wisdom. An age in which we seek to be entertained rather than
informed.

This appetite for infotainment and excessive emotional displays seems further propelled by Web 2.0 and the advent of
social media, which duly feeds our constant cravings.

Operating within a 24-hour news cycle full of click-bait headlines in a global marketplace, we have instant access to
stories of all kinds at all times. And we no longer seem to care whether or not these stories are based on sound evidence,
logical reasoning or reasonable inferences.

What we care about is the conclusions they draw, and whether or not we agree - or even more superficially, if we found
the anecdote mildly amusing or if we liked the clothes that were worn.

The proliferation of so-called "fake news" should not come as a surprise. The popular appetite for fakery of all kinds is
evident in (highly confected) "reality" television shows, on social media platforms that have trouble controlling bots and
deceptive avatars, and in gossip magazines that don't even try and use credible sources or seek the truth.

Viewers of reality television are aware of how unreal many aspects of these television shows are (the strangers on
Married at First Sight don't actually legally marry each other, for instance, which is the entire premise of the show), and
yet, this does not seem to faze anyone.

Against all this background noise, politicians are trying to capture our attention, provoke a reaction or evoke an
emotional response. Pursuing votes rather than causes, politicians are vying for air time in the crowded media arena. As
such, being respected or supporting policies that will support long-term prosperity simply must take second place to
being commented on, liked and shared.

Yet an unquenchable thirst for fakery is not at all new. Neither is politicking. In fact, we may turn to the early medieval
philosopher Boethius to help us diagnose the cause of such a malaise.

The Consolation of Philosophy , written in approximately 522AD is a popular work of late-classical and early-medieval
philosophy, written by Boethius for an ordinary audience. It is a tragic tale of riches to rags, an autobiography and a
confessional. After gaining an important official political position in Ancient Rome, Boethius is falsely accused of
treason and sentenced to death by execution.

As a prosimetrum (a prose work with verse interludes), The Consolation recounts, in a literary style, an imagined
dialogue between the prisoner Boethius and a lady who personifies Philosophy. He is suffering in the soul and earnestly
seeking a cure, looking inward after everything externally valuable has been taken from him.

Lady Philosophy diagnoses the disease from which Boethius suffers - that of turning to "false goods" such as material
goods. She tells us that we seek happiness through wealth (because we think it will lead to self-sufficiency), we seek
happiness through public office (because we think it will lead to respect), we seek happiness through kingship (because
we think it will lead to power), we seek happiness through celebrity (because we think it will lead to renown) and we
seek happiness through pleasure (because we think it will lead to joy).

Yet fortune is fickle and the most important thing, the one thing that cannot be taken away from us, is our understanding,
or wisdom. The true good we should therefore pursue is a love of wisdom - literally, philo-sophia. Thank you, Lady
Wisdom.

How can philosophy help us in our hour of need? As a balm for soothing any suffering, intelligence alone does not seem
very reassuring. In fact, in a world that exalts reality TV celebrities and egoistical leaders of powerful countries, bearing
witness to such a lack of wisdom being rewarded and encouraged is downright distressing.

Yet wisdom works to understand and to uncover the causes of such eventualities. Careful reasoning and analysis
highlights the false goods that are pursued and asks how we may direct attention to the true goods. The truly wise are
also compassionate and this rational emotion humbles us to the suffering of others. Even as those who are suffering seek
cures that will not aid or assist them, some easing of their pain comes with being accepted and understood.
It is only when we feel as though we are on the same page as others that we can hope to share a view of the facts of a
situation. It is only when we attempt really to communicate with those we may be inclined to see as different to ourselves
that a conversation can ensue. It is dialogue that may make progress; not shouting, yelling, or judging without any
attempt to place oneself in the shoes of another.

The stories we tell are important and if we don't try to find the truth and wisdom in these narratives, we will be left with
fewer and fewer people who are able really to listen to one another.

Laura D'Olimpio is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle.

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