Roman Historian Boethius Explained the Fate of Nations and Empires

The Roman senator, consul, and historian Boethius (c. 480–524 AD) explained the fate of nations, empires, and societies more than a millennium and a half ago in his immortal treatise On the Consolidation of Philosophy. My friend Bruce Johnson explained in an email: The ups and downs of secular cultures are controlled by "the wheel of …

Meditation on Alexandre Dumas’ Concepts of ‘Slender Threads’, ‘Fortune’, Fate and Destiny

"Oh what slender threads do life and fortune hang," observed Alexandre Dumas in the Count of Monte Cristo. The concept of "fortune," akin to fate, destiny, societies' stability or instability, divine providence, God's will, envy, revenge, justice and injustice, accident of birth and social class were themes that Dumas addressed in the novel. But these …

What If Pope Granted Henry VIII’s Divorce?

"What if Pope Clement VII had agreed in 1527 to Henry VIII's request for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon? Henry did have very strong legal and theological arguments on his side, and more than anything it was the presence of the armies of Catherine's nephew, Emperor Charles V, that made Clement …

Exploring Divine Providence, Retribution, Destiny, Predestination, Teleology and Chaos Theory

Writing history as if every event is inevitable is called "teleology." It is probably what has turned more students off the study of history than anything else, the notion that history is fixed and pre-determined. Entire academic courses of philosophy or theology can be devoted to debating it. Amazon.com lists 800 books on the subject. …

History Can Veer Dramatically In An Instant

Veteran journalist Jeff Greenfield has a book, "Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics." In it, he writes: “History doesn’t turn on a dime; it turns on a plugged nickel.” History “is as much a product of chance as of the broader forces at play.” “Geography, topography, ethnicity, ideology, climate, natural resources, the …

Do Great Men and Women Shape History? Or Are We Slaves to Fate, Random Chaos, Divine Providence?

A very individualistic society like America gravitates easily to the  "great man theory of history" (which would be modernized to include women): "a 19th-century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes: highly influential individuals who, due to either their personal charisma, intelligence, wisdom, or political …

Do Random Events Determine Whether Our Friends Live Or Die?

In the last few days: A friend posts on Facebook: "Thank God for airbags. I was in a head-on collision today and walked away from the accident. The driver of the other car fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into my lane. I'm a lucky woman, but unfortunately my car was pronounced dead at …