On this principle it is ridiculous to say, “Give me advice.” What advice am I to give you?
Say rather, “Enable my mind to adapt itself to the issue, whatever it may be,” for the other phrase is as though a man unskilled in writing should say, “Tell me what to write, when a name is set me to write.”
For if I say “Dion,” and then yonder fellow comes forward and sets him the name not of Dion but of Theon, what is to happen? What is he to write? If you have practiced writing, you can prepare yourself for anything that is dictated to you. But if you have not practiced, what is the good of my making a suggestion?
For if circumstances suggest something different, what will you say or what will you do? Remember then this general principle, and you will need no special suggestion.
But if you fix your gaze on outward things, you must needs be tossed up and down, at the will of your master. And who is your master? He who has authority over any of those things on which you set your heart or which you will to avoid.
Say rather, “Enable my mind to adapt itself to the issue, whatever it may be,” for the other phrase is as though a man unskilled in writing should say, “Tell me what to write, when a name is set me to write.”
For if I say “Dion,” and then yonder fellow comes forward and sets him the name not of Dion but of Theon, what is to happen? What is he to write? If you have practiced writing, you can prepare yourself for anything that is dictated to you. But if you have not practiced, what is the good of my making a suggestion?
For if circumstances suggest something different, what will you say or what will you do? Remember then this general principle, and you will need no special suggestion.
But if you fix your gaze on outward things, you must needs be tossed up and down, at the will of your master. And who is your master? He who has authority over any of those things on which you set your heart or which you will to avoid.
—from Epictetus, Discourses 2.2
In moments of extreme distress, I have sometimes begged and pleaded for advice, desperate to just be told exactly what I ought to do, and yet I inevitably find that being provided with even the most subtle and detailed plans will not rid me of my problems.
In hindsight, it seems rather silly of me to farm out my judgment to others, to think that I can somehow fix myself without being the one who is doing the actual work.
I should listen and learn from those who are better and wiser, but it will all come to nothing if I do not choose to understand on my own terms. What I ought to do is meaningless without also knowing why I ought to do it, and I can’t take some shortcut to happiness by trying to skip over the necessary condition of self-mastery.
A man is not learning to write, or to think, if he is simply copying out what has already been placed in front of him. Corporate educators, please take heed!
I regularly find my students, at least the ones who remain genuinely curious, asking questions that are limited to particular instances, with very little attention to any universal standards of right or wrong. Should they eat meat? Is this career better than that? Which is the best political party? Are dogs more suitable as companions than cats? I feel as if I’ve heard them all.
I certainly do not wish to discourage them, though I am increasingly hesitant to say anything at all, first because it isn’t my place to dictate any answers, and second because they finally need to start reasoning for themselves.
This is especially true in a soundbite society, where attention spans have grown disturbingly shorter. How might I redirect the question from the jumble of changing circumstances, which are beyond their power to determine, to a focus on the underlying principles, which are within their power to comprehend?
So, at the risk of confusing them further, I ask them to examine the terms they are using, until they perhaps arrive at a moment when they cannot escape focusing on the true and good within their very natures.
“So do you think either a dog or a cat could better help you to become a better person?”
“Wait, what does it even mean for me to be a better person?”
Excellent! Now we’re getting somewhere! Pretty soon, they will have figured out that it was never really about the dogs and the cats to begin with.
The peace of mind we all seek comes from establishing the right rules on the inside, and then everything on the outside will fall into place.
In moments of extreme distress, I have sometimes begged and pleaded for advice, desperate to just be told exactly what I ought to do, and yet I inevitably find that being provided with even the most subtle and detailed plans will not rid me of my problems.
In hindsight, it seems rather silly of me to farm out my judgment to others, to think that I can somehow fix myself without being the one who is doing the actual work.
I should listen and learn from those who are better and wiser, but it will all come to nothing if I do not choose to understand on my own terms. What I ought to do is meaningless without also knowing why I ought to do it, and I can’t take some shortcut to happiness by trying to skip over the necessary condition of self-mastery.
A man is not learning to write, or to think, if he is simply copying out what has already been placed in front of him. Corporate educators, please take heed!
I regularly find my students, at least the ones who remain genuinely curious, asking questions that are limited to particular instances, with very little attention to any universal standards of right or wrong. Should they eat meat? Is this career better than that? Which is the best political party? Are dogs more suitable as companions than cats? I feel as if I’ve heard them all.
I certainly do not wish to discourage them, though I am increasingly hesitant to say anything at all, first because it isn’t my place to dictate any answers, and second because they finally need to start reasoning for themselves.
This is especially true in a soundbite society, where attention spans have grown disturbingly shorter. How might I redirect the question from the jumble of changing circumstances, which are beyond their power to determine, to a focus on the underlying principles, which are within their power to comprehend?
So, at the risk of confusing them further, I ask them to examine the terms they are using, until they perhaps arrive at a moment when they cannot escape focusing on the true and good within their very natures.
“So do you think either a dog or a cat could better help you to become a better person?”
“Wait, what does it even mean for me to be a better person?”
Excellent! Now we’re getting somewhere! Pretty soon, they will have figured out that it was never really about the dogs and the cats to begin with.
The peace of mind we all seek comes from establishing the right rules on the inside, and then everything on the outside will fall into place.
—Reflection written in 6/2001
No comments:
Post a Comment