P

March 24th

THERE IS PHILOSOPHY IN EVERYTHING

“Eat like a human being, drink like a human being, dress up, marry,

have children, get politically active—suffer abuse, bear with a

headstrong brother, father, son, neighbor, or companion. Show us

these things so we can see that you truly have learned from the

philosophers.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.21.5–6

lutarch, a Roman biographer as well as an admirer of the Stoics, didn’t
begin his study of the greats of Roman literature until late in life. But,
as he recounts in his biography of Demosthenes, he was surprised at how
quickly it all came to him. He wrote, “It wasn’t so much that the words
brought me into a full understanding of events, as that, somehow, I had a
personal experience of the events that allowed me to follow closely the
meaning of the words.”
This is what Epictetus means about the study of philosophy. Study, yes,
but go live your life as well. It’s the only way that you’ll actually
understand what any of it means. And more important, it’s only from your
actions and choices over time that it will be possible to see whether you
took any of the teachings to heart.
Be aware of that today when you’re going to work, going on a date,
deciding whom to vote for, calling your parents in the evening, waving to
your neighbor as you walk to your door, tipping the delivery man, saying
goodnight to someone you love. All of that is philosophy. All of it is
experience that brings meaning to the words.