Rubin Carter, a top contender for the middleweight boxing title, at the height of his career was all of a sudden wrongly accused of being involved in the murder of three people in the mid-1960s. He went on trial, where he got a biased verdict, condemning him to three life sentences, totalling, up to 90 years in prison overall. A tragic incident for anyone to go through, but especially for Carter as he had just risen to success and fame, which was a reality, that had become a dream again overnight. As you can imagine, this was crippling. But he did not plan on taking this defeat anytime soon. He turned up to prison in an expensive, tailored suit, wearing a $5,000 diamond ring and a gold watch. Whilst waiting in line to be entered into the prison ecosystem, he requested to speak to someone in charge. Looking the Warden who came to meet him in the eye. He informed him and the guards, that he knew they had nothing to do with his injustice that had lead to him being put in jail, and is willing to stay there until he gets out. “But” he says, “I will not under any circumstances, be treated like a prisoner—Because I am not and never will be powerless.” Unlike doing what many people might have, he did not breakdown in any way. He instead declined to surrender the freedom that was innately his. Being his attitude, beliefs and his choices. Despite him being robbed of physical freedom, and sometimes having to spend weeks on end in solitary confinement, he knew that he still had those other, more important forms of freedom. He was angry about his situation, as any person would be. He was furious in fact, but he never let that turn into rage, as he understood that no amount of anger would ever be constructive. He never broke down in self-pity or walked with his head down. He would not wear uniform, eat prison food, accept visitors, attend parole hearings, or work in the commissary to reduce his sentence. And he wouldn’t be touched. No-one would lay a finger on him unless they wanted a fight. Instead spending all his energy on his legal case. Using every waking minute reading books on philosophy, law and history. His life didn’t have to be ruined if he choice for it not to ruin him, he was just put somewhere he didn’t deserve to be. He wanted to leave prison a free and innocent man. But also a better one. After 19 years, he overturned the verdict and was able to finally leave prison, after doing so, he just decided to resume his life where he left off, the same way it had always been. No civil suit to recover damages, Carter didn’t even request an apology from the court. Because in doing so, this would suggest that they had taken something from him, he felt he was owed. Even at his lowest moments in prison, he exercised his freedom of choice. The choice he chose, was that he could not be harmed. He didn’t want it to happen to him, but he did get to decide how it would effect him. He did not outsource that right to anyone else.
The way Carter reacted, was a way in which Epictetus, possibly the greatest stoic philosopher, taught his students and himself to act. Being now, one of the most core lessons of stoicism as a whole. Unlike many of the ancient Greek philosophers who lived in luxury, Epictetus was a slave for a large amount of his life, and when he was freed, he was of ill health, and had a permanently lame leg. He was in my opinion, the best example of a stoic that walked the walk in all of history, as to live in such unfavourable conditions, and still maintain his ideology, and push through the adversity whilst remaining mentally undisturbed, not complaining or being left in despair. Epictetus was one of Marcus Aurelius’ greatest influences, being almost polar opposites in terms of lifestyle. One is a rich Emperor, that has to control his desires as he can have anything he wants, and in massive quantities. Whilst Epictetus, didn’t even own his own body. The original translation of his name, meant “acquired” in Greek, as he was owned by a torturous, slave owner, that was known to have treated his slaves poorly. Epictetus had little, to no material possessions. And yet, stoicism answered as a solution to both philosophers problems on opposite extremes, showing how applicable it is as of a way of life to anyone that chooses to be guided by it. Providing both men with fulfilment, when the cards they had been dealt in life, could have so easily lead to misery.
We bind ourselves to many things like possessions, family and friends, but these things can sometimes weigh us down and depress us. You feel like you own these things to an extent. Like your house, but at any point it could be robbed, or destroyed. Your family and friends could die, fall ill, or decide to leave at any moment. Epictetus preaches the idea that the only thing that is truly in your control is your will, and it is your will, which then determines your actions. Not even your body you have full control over, shown by what happened to Carter, along with you having the potential to be diagnosed with some kind of disease, that inhibits parts of its function, was one of the main stoic teachings.
“I must die. I must be imprisoned. I must suffer exile. But must I die groaning? Must I whine as well? Can anyone hinder me from going into exile? The master threatens to chain me: What say you? Chain me? My leg you will chain—yes, but not my will—no, not even Zeus can conquer that.”
People can enforce the worst things unto you, but what is it that is stopping you from choosing to not be upset, and deciding to take it as a chance to improve yourself through the adversity it brings. Nothing is stopping you from acting in that way but your own mind. That is the one thing that no-one else is in control of. So why then would you choose to be angry at such circumstances. This only gives up your free will of choice, which as Epictetus says, is the only thing you truly own. Therefore, if you give in to anger, sadness or self-pity, you let that person who you blame for making you feel such a way, be your master, as they now control the one thing which you had. You can only be angry at someone if you permit it.
“When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beast.”
The thing that separates us from a wild animal, is our ability to use reason. But when you get overwhelmed by emotion, you throw reason out of the window. The cure to such emotions suggested by Epictetus, is to not feed them. Avoid things that trigger such feelings, and say to yourself, that you used to feel angry everyday, and then start to say that now you only feel like that every other day; now only every third or fourth day, and soon, you will have made it a month. It’s almost like trying to keep a streak of emotional control each day, as a way to motivate you to be less reactive. Additionally, when you are offended at someone’s faults or imperfections, Epictetus suggests that instead of getting frustrated by such things, turn to yourself and study your own failings and imperfections, that way, you will soon forget your anger.
Epictetus’ book Enchiridion (IN-CORE-IDION), was written by one of his students named Arrian, as we have never discovered any of Epictetus’ original works. The book is made of lecture notes, as when Epictetus was freed from slavery, he became a teacher of philosophy, which later resulted in his exile from Rome, as many of the stoic philosophers were, as the Emperor at the time, disliked their more open minded approach to things, seeing them as a threat to his control. The original translation of the book Enchiridion, meant “knife” in Greek, as the book was seen as a tool to overcome any form of adversity and struggle. Being something that many people would carry around with them at all times, so they could call on the wisdom of Epictetus at any point. The Navy Admiral James Stockdale, who was awarded the medal of honour during the Vietnam War, famously carried Epictetus’ book with him whilst parachuting into Vietnam, and constantly drew on the thinking of Epictetus when he got captured and tortured by the Viet Cong. Theodore Roosevelt was also a known student of Epictetus, carrying his works with him when he went on several explorations, including the violent ‘river of doubt’ expedition, where he narrowly escaped death.
“Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions they form concerning things, death for instance, is not terrible, else it would have appeared so to Socrates, but the terror exists in the notion of death, that is terrible, when therefore we are hindered or disturbed, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves, that is, to our own principles. An uninstructed person will lay the fault of his own bad condition upon others.“
Epictetus is the stoic that introduced the dichotomy of control, which is the idea that some things are in our control, and others are not. The things that we are in control of are that of opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion and our own actions. The things that are not in our control are body, property, reputation, command and whatever are not our own actions. The more value we place on the things we do not control, the less control we have. Whilst confined to slavery, Epictetus realised that people will always do cruel things, but it is up to us on how we respond to them, and even then, Epictetus says that “until you know their reasons, how do you know they’ve acted wrongly?”. Assuming that they did act with cruel intentions, along with adding judgement and getting emotional about it, is what most people would do. You could get angry. But when has anger got you anywhere. Instead, embody the philosophy you believe in, don’t just talk about it. It is only you that can keep yourself fully accountable. If you are angry, the only person you should accuse is yourself as it’s a flaw in your character that has allowed you to feel that way. The things we cannot control, should therefore not be complained about, as what’s the point? We can’t change them anyway. But the things in our control, well, we shouldn’t complain about them either, because it is only us that can change them, and complaining is not the way to go about doing that. Hence why, when Epictetus’ violent master was torturing him for no reason apparent to Epictetus. Painfully twisting and bending his leg, Epictetus cautioned his master, saying that if he continued to do so, his leg would break, and therefore he wouldn’t be able to work as well. His master didn’t listen, and ended up breaking his leg anyway, to which, Epictetus didn’t cry or complain, but just said that he warned him, embodying his character of a stoic who has completely mastered his body, seeing it not as something he owned in the first place, as how can he, when he does not have full control over it, and thus, no reason to complain. This left Epictetus with a lame leg for the rest of his life. Seeing it as an impediment to the body, but not as an impediment to the mind. My favourite quote from Epictetus was, “I have to die, if it is now, well then I die now, if later, then now, I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived.” Dying was something he saw as being out his control, and therefore he chose to live in the moment, rather then to worry and whine about the things that came in the future.
Whilst in slavery, he was allowed to study philosophy, getting taught by a man called Masonius Rufus. A virtuous man, known as the Roman Socrates, that unlike many people at the time, allowed women and slaves to be present in his lectures. Even singling Epictetus out as being his star pupil at one point.
If you are enjoying the video so far, I have started a free weekly email newsletter which I have linked below, where I write about a wider array of topics all under the umbrella of optimising your life. If you don’t gain some kind of value or new knowledge from each newsletter I send, you can unsubscribe hassle free.
“If you tell someone that they are just as enslaved as someone sold to captivity don't expect anything but a punch in the nose”
Though Epictetus was a slave, he said this to make people realise that most people have an illusion of individual freedom. It is something we don’t like to admit to ourselves, but, in actuality, we are bound to many things, like a slave is to his handcuffs. We let our actions be bound to the opinions of others. You might lie to someone so they like you more. You might pick a job that you hate, but gives you social status. This ties up our will and actions, being the thing that makes us free, and should not be bound to anything. Hence, you can be a slave and a free man, like Epictetus was. But you can also be ‘free man’, whilst still being a slave, which is the category most of us may find ourselves in.
Epictetus was a minimalist, even after being released as a slave, he was known for only having the bare necessities. He once overheard someone in Nero’s court, say that they were on their last million dollars, to which Nero responded, “how have you survived”. The insatiable need people have to keep needing and getting, to only then desire even more, is one we can shortcut, by getting rid of the need in the first place, exiting us out of the vicious cycle, leaving us, if anything, more satisfied then if we kept on getting what we constantly desired. Epictetus says that “it is better to starve to death in a calm and confident mind then to live anxiously amidst abundance.” Even though he was still a slave at the time of this happening, he saw himself as more free than the rich man that was talking to Emperor Nero. As he didn’t have these desires, nor was he controlled by them. The expensive watch, or shoes that you are nervous to wear in public out of fear of being mugged or getting damaged, may have been possessions, better off not being desired or bought in the first place. Wealth is not having lots of possessions, but having few wants.
“Behave in life as at a dinner table. Is nothing brought around to you? Put out your hand and take your share with moderation. Does it pass by you? Don’t stop it, is it not yet come? Don’t stretch your desire towards it, but wait till it reaches you, do this with regard to children, to a wife, to public posts, to riches, and you will eventually be a worthy partner of the feasts of the Gods. If you don’t even take the things that are set before you, but are able even to reject them, then you will not only be a partner at the feasts of the Gods, but also of their empire, for by doing this Diogenes, Heraclitus, and others like them, deservedly became called divine”
Epictetus thought that life should be devoted to making progress. And that life’s challenges don’t necessarily make a person, but reveal him to himself, and that is something to be thankful for. The same way a boxer gains the greatest advantage from his sparring partner. When you are struggling and going through adversity, just think that you have been given a strong sparring partner, and therefore will become stronger yourself. Because of this, you can hold pride in yourself for being able to get through it. Unlike many people nowadays, who are only prideful of the excellence they do not own. Showing off the money they inherited, or the possessions they have, as they have not gone through the same trials of adversity that would make them proud of themselves, but have only lived a life sheltered by comfort. This is probably, unexpected to some, the worst situation you can find yourself in.
Comments
Post a Comment