Boethius’s view focuses on human ideals, while Boccaccio's argument is more realistic because it takes into account …show more content…
Boethius argues for the pursuit of eternal happiness; we must focus on that which is in our control and everlasting, the being God. Fortune does not own our virtue, mind ,and spirit and cannot steal our devotion to God (Boethius, III.x).
Boccaccio’s view is better than Boethius’s view because it accounts for human nature.
Humans want to have sex, power, wealth, fame, and success. Boccaccio assumes we will pursue our passions and those who do this intelligently will have greater success. Although Boethius is certainly correct in saying we feel unhappiness when Fortune takes our goods away, this is miniscule suffering compared to the far greater happiness we can achieve by gaining our earthly desires. Boethius believes that greater happiness possible in the afterlife outranks anything we might experience on Earth. However, this is not practical because as mentioned before, people crave earthly pleasures. Further, there is no evidence that a God who can grant us eternal happiness exists, and if there is no God at all, we will have sacrificed earthly pleasure for