the daily stoic

A

March 22nd

THE SIGN OF TRUE EDUCATION

“What is it then to be properly educated? It is learning to apply our

natural preconceptions to the right things according to Nature, and

beyond that to separate the things that lie within our power from

those that don’t.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.22.9–10a

degree on a wall means you’re educated as much as shoes on your feet
mean you’re walking. It’s a start, but hardly sufficient.
Otherwise, how could so many “educated” people make unreasonable
decisions? Or miss so many obvious things? Partly it’s because they forget
that they ought to focus only on that which lies within their power to
control. A surviving fragment from the philosopher Heraclitus expresses
that reality:

“Many who have learned

from Hesiod the countless names

of gods and monsters

never understand

that night and day are one.”

Just as you can walk plenty well without shoes, you don’t need to step
into a classroom to understand the basic, fundamental reality of nature and
of our proper role in it. Begin with awareness and reflection. Not just once,
but every single second of every single day.