Happiness Pre-Modern Answers for Questions Today from Boethius to Fortunatus

Abstract

Human existence is really dependent on the quest for happiness. Most people rely on contingent aspects of happiness, whereas all philosophers and poets have already taught us that true happiness rests somewhere else. This paper examines recent approaches to this idea of happiness, both in philosophy and in sociology, and related fields, and then turns to the teachings by the late antique philosopher Boethius (in Latin). From there, the article turns to the anonymous German novel Fortunatus (printed in 1509) where some of Boethius’s teachings find direct applications, defining happiness with a reference to wisdom. Past notions of happiness promise to illuminate us today in our search for true happiness beyond contingency.