Tag: philosophy

Epictetus’s Discourses are remarkable in that they give the impression that, after them, there was not much left to say about ethics. Times change, customs change, but what is relevant is, in some way, portrayed there. And even among the great philosophers of different schools of thought, we can draw a parallel—or rather, we can find the equivalent of what they say in the work of that extraordinary sage. Two thousand years have passed! And this great work remains intact, as valuable and as relevant as it has always been… And so it will remain.

All of man’s misery seems to stem from his inability to grasp with certainty the truth of his perceptions. But while it is true that he often misjudges things, just as often he gets it astonishingly right. Thus, statements made in youth—“this is what I will do with my life”; “I belong here”…—may come to be confirmed decades later, after the individual has almost changed his name, proving the incredible accuracy of those long-ago perceptions. The problem, then, is that it is difficult to distinguish between them, and thus to trust what one feels; but it certainly causes less regret to be mistaken in trusting than to disregard a very real and prodigious perception.

Just as difficult as letting the negative dispositions, the pernicious outbursts and states of mind pass as if they were foreign to our nature is following Lavelle’s recommendation: “ne pas laisser flétrir, à ne pas gaspiller toutes les bonnes dispositions qui paraissent en nous par éclairs, mais au contraire à les retenir, à les mettre en œuvre et à les faire fructifier.” To take control of oneself is nothing other than consciously deciding what should pass and what should remain. To do so requires combining full attention with unwavering resolve. Very, very difficult… Yet, just as inattention leads to a loss of control, indifference toward those rare flashes is to reject the intimate connection they make possible, but which cannot be realized without active resolve.

Lavelle pointed out:

Le véritable courage consiste à reconnaître notre vocation, qui est unique au monde, et à lui demeurer fidèle au milieu de tous les obstacles que nous rencontrons, sans nous permettre de jamais céder devant eux.

It is curious to note how a vocation, while it is relevant to the world, is always more or less hindered by it. Its relevance stems from its uniqueness; it stems from the fact that the world expands through its fulfillment, regardless of any considerations of greatness. However, that same world seems to boil down to a set of circumstances that actively work to disrupt it, to divert and disperse the focus, to obscure it, to belittle it, and to redirect the energy toward another end. The courage to face it, then, is truly authentic, for it confronts the whole at a tremendous disadvantage, in a battle in which the possible victory is always partial, taking upon oneself the extremely difficult task of striving to draw energy from the opposing force—but, above all, it is authentic because it does not hesitate in the face of the fundamental conflict.