Introduction

A major problem that the Philippines currently faces—albeit not talked about much by the popular
media—is the rise of suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 The suicides were committed due to
the absence of Happiness in the lives of the victims. Of course, the pandemic is not the sole reason for
the emergence of this phenomenon. The pandemic acted as a kind of catalyst that further decomposed
the foundations of the already-fragile spirit of the victims.

I have first-hand experience with this, except the suicide part. I felt a sort of despondency within myself
as the pandemic dragged on. As I was locked indoors due to the lockdowns, my world changed. The
things that I used to find joy in are now inaccessible. Indeed, as shown by the 25% rise in suicide rates in
the Philippines I am not alone in this predicament.

Thus, it has become a pressing issue to address the suicides. A way must be figured out on how to help
them find happiness, which if successful, shall help prevent suicides caused by depression. That search
for aid is the goal that I have in writing this paper. During the pandemic, I have read the The Consolation
of Philosophy by the medieval philosopher, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. His book has given me a
system that helped me find happiness. In this paper, I shall talk about my discoveries and meditations
derived from the book. After that, I shall, to the best of my abilities, scrutinize the philosophical
concepts that Boethius advanced in his book.

Disclaimer

A way of citing Boethius’ Consolation must first be established. This is because the book ‘s format is
prosimetrum. It is a compilation of all five books of the Consolations. When citing Boethius, I will be
using the following format:

B = Book

M = Meter

P = Prose

Example: If I am citing the 6th Prose of Book 3 of The Consolation, I shall put in the footnote the citation
(B3.P6). If read directly, B3.P6 is read as: “Book 3 Prose 6”.

Proving that God exists

It is imperative that I first prove that God necessarily exists because so much of the argument that I am
putting forth in this paper is contingent on the proposition that God necessarily exists. Without doing so,
my argument will be standing on shaky foundations which would mean that the argument is taking an
illogical jump to conclusions.

1
Ralf Rivas, “Suicide Cases Rise in PH as Pandemic Drags On,” Rappler (Rappler, March 17, 2021),
https://www.rappler.com/nation/suicide-rises-philippines-pandemic-drags-on-2021/.
In Proslogion, St. Anselm of Canterbury, another medieval philosopher provided a sound argument that
God necessarily exists. His argument goes:

1. God is something which nothing greater can be thought of.

2. Things either exist in the mind only or in both mind and reality.
3. It is greater to exist in both mind and reality than in the mind only.
4. God undoubtably exists in the mind.
5. If God exists only in the mind, then we can have a thought of something greater than God (i.e a
God that exists in both mind and reality)
6. But it would be absurd to assert that God exists in the mind only because God is something
which nothing greater can be thought of
a. Scholium: It is impossible to have a thought of something greater than God, who is
something which nothing greater can be thought of.
7. Therefore, God necessarily exists in both mind and reality.

If the reader is not convinced, then we turn to Rene Descartes, a modern philosopher who later asserted
in Meditations on First Philosophy2 the argument that goes:

1. God is a supremely perfect being.

a. Scholium: A supremely perfect being is a being that possess all sorts of perfection
2. Necessary existence is a kind of perfection.
3. Thus, God possesses necessary existence.
4. Therefore, God necessarily exists.

Defining Happiness

Before I go into my meditations on The Consolation of Philosophy, it would be prudent to give an

adequate account of the definition of “Happiness”. This is important because each man has their own
definition of happiness. If I go on discussing the subject matter without doing so, the discourse will be
muddied. This is because I might be explaining how to attain a kind of happiness which could be
fundamentally different to definition of happiness in the mind of the reader.

It is a common response of people when asked the question: “What is happiness”. To say that Happiness
is the feeling of pleasure. However, I would disagree with this notion. Happiness is not merely a
pleasurable feeling.

The pleasurable feeling is merely a side-effect caused by the essence of happiness. I define happiness as
a state of passion that occurs when man experiences the metaphysical entity of Goodness Itself. By
Goodness Itself, I do not mean the ethical definition of Goodness. What I mean is the perfect form of
Goodness that Plato talks about in his theory of forms.