That is the chief reason why we need education, that we may learn so to adjust our preconceptions of rational and irrational to particular conditions as to be in harmony with Nature.
But to decide what is rational and irrational we not only estimate the value of things external, but each one of us considers what is in keeping with his character.
For one man thinks it reasonable to perform the meanest office for another; for he looks merely to this, that if he refuses he will be beaten and get no food, while if he does it nothing hard or painful will be done to him.
To another it seems intolerable not only to do this service himself, but even to suffer another to do it.
If then you ask me, “Am I to do it or not?” I shall say to you, to get food is worth more than to go without it, and to be flogged is worth less than to escape flogging: therefore, if you measure your affairs by this standard, go and do it.
My vanity can get in the way of recognizing that other people will choose to think differently, and yet understanding and compassion will only be possible when I accept that all people are genuinely pursuing what they think to be best.
Now this is not an excuse for relativism, or a denial that there is a right and wrong inherent in Nature. It rather means that the remedy for error is the nurturing of the inner man, instead of getting into a fight with the outer man. It is an appeal to reason, not to force, that changes minds.
Young people will often wonder why they need an education, beyond a training in work skills to pay the rent and put food on the table. I can hardly blame them for their frustrations, since I know first-hand how the academic machine is usually run. A product is sold, which is ultimately little more than a certain image, and success is won by following along with whatever practices or creeds are fashionable at the moment. This is, needless to say, not the sort of education Epictetus is promoting.
No, an education of the soul cannot be subject to blind conformity, and it is for the sake of learning to know and to rule ourselves, not for the sake of buying nicer things. It may be formal or informal, but, whatever its shape, its profound purpose is to encourage sound judgments about meaning and value; it should encourage conscience and build character.
When a man has learned to distinguish the true from the false and the right from the wrong, then all the other aspects of life can fall into place. To understand how my existence right now fits into the context of everything else around me is the first condition for peace of mind.
For the Stoic, a major part of this endeavor is in seeing that such meaning and value are not merely in the things outside of me, but in how I choose to relate to them. The worth, for better or for worse, is in the estimation. How much I care informs how much it matters to me, such that I am now responsible for my caring to work with the world, instead of against it.
If I look around me, I will see people acting in very different ways, and yet what they all share in common is a choice of priorities. What a man is willing to do follows from what he judges to be most important in his life.
Does he believe that pleasure is his highest good? Then he will do anything to be gratified. Does he believe that wealth is his highest good? Then he will do anything to get rich. Does he believe that honor is his highest good? Then he will do anything to win praise.
Yes, he will, if he thinks it expedient, beg and grovel for his prize. Yes, he will even lie and steal. Yes, he will sell you out in a moment if he thinks it will work in his favor.
I will also find a different sort of person, who has come to rather different conclusions. If the highest good is virtue, then he will never act contrary to such principles. He would rather go hungry than treat you unfairly. He would rather be in chains than tell a falsehood. He would rather be spit on than lash out in anger. He is his character, not the sum of his worldly spoils.
The halls of modern industry are little different from those of the old royal courts, where folks win points for kowtowing to the boss, their moral dignity be damned. Yet for every Francois Leclerc there is a Socrates, and for every Martin Bormann there is a Diogenes.
No comments:
Post a Comment