Stoic Reflections: What Makes Someone Good?
Musings from Epictetus’ Discourses — Week 17
The Skill of Being a Good Person:
Now, we see that a carpenter becomes a carpenter by acquiring a certain kind of knowledge, and that a pilot becomes a pilot by acquiring a certain kind of knowledge. In view of that, isn’t it likely that in our case too, it can’t be sufficient merely to want to become a virtuous and good person, but that it is also necessary to acquire some kind of knowledge?
What kind of knowledge makes a good person? What kind of knowledge makes someone virtuous?
The insight from this passage is the idea that being virtuous and a good person is also a skill. It requires practice, iterations, and repetition.
Having empathy must play a role in being a good person. This line of thought leads to the practice of empathy. It’s easy to spout your feelings and assume others will get your point of view. It takes practice to actually control your ego and listen to the other person and put yourself in their shoes. Repetition of this knowledge can make you a better person.
Following through with your words is a skill that can help you become more virtuous. This will not only make you more careful about your commitments but will also make you take action. This way people will know that there is weight behind your words and commitments. Another skill that requires repetition and iteration.
On Illogical Commitments:
But no, he says instead, ‘Talk to me about other things, I’ve made up my mind about this.’ About what other things? What could be more important and valuable than to persuade you that it is not enough to make a decision and refuse to change it. That is the strength of a madman and not of a healthy man.
Commitment without reason or logic.
Many people are quick to commit to a line of thinking or action because of their feelings and emotions. They soon attach a sense of self, a part of their identity, to this action or thought process. Stubbornness and ego play a factor as well.
Some things require unflinching commitment and stoic virtues, but more things require flexibility. In fact, you could argue that people have far more pointless and unneeded commitments than not.
Pick your battles. Pick your commitments. But also be willing to change your stance when you are presented with new information.
Practicing For Life’s Ups and Downs:
Only let a disturbing impression assail us and you’ll know what we’ve been studying, and what we’ve been training for! And thus, because of our lack of practice, we’re always piling up difficulties for ourselves and imagining them to be greater than they really are.
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, has a saying: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
There have been other iterations of this saying but in general, it means that you can only be good at the things you’re practicing. That’s why when a catastrophe happens, many people fall apart because they have never practiced handling such a situation.
Of course, you can’t be perfect when life’s random events happen but there is a level of foundation you can build to help you through hard times.
A famous stoic practice was to live under your means for x amount of days, weeks, and maybe even months. So, that you’re used to such a thing in case you ever actually need to do that in the future.
Originally published at http://learnedlivingorg.wordpress.com on May 5, 2024.