W

March 3rd

(DIS)INTEGRATION

“These things don’t go together. You must be a unified human

being, either good or bad. You must diligently work either on your

own reasoning or on things out of your control—take great care

with the inside and not what’s outside, which is to say, stand with

the philosopher, or else with the mob!”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.15.13

e’re all complicated people. We have multiple sides to ourselves—
conflicting wants, desires, and fears. The outside world is no less
confusing and contradictory. If we’re not careful, all these forces—pushing
and pulling—will eventually tear us apart. We can’t live as both Jekyll and
Hyde. Not for long, anyway.
We have a choice: to stand with the philosopher and focus strenuously
on the inside, or to behave like a leader of a mob, becoming whatever the
crowd needs at a given moment.
If we do not focus on our internal integration—on self-awareness—we
risk external disintegration.