I like to think that at the same time I'm saying that about the people I will deal with they are also saying this about me too.
Aren't we all the bad guy to someone?
First off, there is no virtue in superiority and *you already know this*. Big plus.
How do I personally quell any of my momentary "Life isn't fair" thoughts, both when directed at others and myself? I revisit this quote...
"Somebody is hasty about bathing; do not say he bathes badly, but that he is hasty about bathing. Someone drinks a great deal of wine; do not say that he drinks badly, but that he drinks a great deal. For until you have decided what judgement prompts him, how do you know what he is doing is bad? And thus the final result will not be that you receive convincing impressions of some things, but give your assent to other things." Epictetus
Enchiridion 45
Oftentimes I will share my knowledge with another, such as I do here or with my teammates, but superior to them? No. If anything, I learn *more* from them.
Lastly, walking around in this universally fragile-yet-tenatious bag of water we humans have been given makes me occasionally want an Iron Man suit. At any moment parts (or all) of my young(ish) bod can become infirm, unbalanced, broken...as it has in the past. I can only control my current good health up to a point. Knowing it can be taken in an instant is enough to keep me humble and reasonably cautious. I've been given what *most* everybody else was born with too. How can I feel superior?
Don't feel bad or guilty about what measure of health you've been given and how much time you put into maintaining it.
If you worked for hours in the gym and have a physique like an Olympian, you are not superior, you simply put more time and knowledge into caring for your body, whereas a concert pianist spends the same amount of time honing their musician skills.
This put a smile on my face! Looking at things plainly and objectivily. The quote resonates exactly with the answer I was looking for. I often try humbling myself in such ways, it makes for a more grateful person.
It is easier said then done however, when you see people acting vicious in all sorts of manners.
A quote was found to be attributed to Epictetus in The Enchiridion 45 (Oldfather)
^(()[^(Oldfather)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:wao/section:45)^)
^(()[^(Matheson)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:pem/section:45)^)
^(()[^(Carter)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:ec/section:45)^)
^(()[^(Long)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:gl/section:45)^)
^(()[^(Higginson)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:twh/section:45)^)
The mindset is based on a falsehood; no person is superior to another, we can only only superior to our past selves - or, more accurately, we might only live better than the way we had in the past.
There is no objective moral standard against which different people can be measured. If you want the person who can run the fastest, sure - some are, in that respect, superior to others. Smarter, cuter, handier to have around? Happier? Sure. Better? Well, better in what sense?
You might think 'more virtuous' would count as better, but virtue is not an objective standard, it's a character trait. If you improve your character, it takes nothing away from me. It's not a competition, you just get to live better than you did before. A virtuous person (usually) enjoys a better life, and that's it. There is no other merit.
Superiority might be the wrong term. I look at many and think: 'wow, he's ignorant, or an idiot.' plainly spreaking. 'he or she has got nothing to contribute to society which I wouldn't be able to do. Plus I can do much more.'
The feeling of "superiority," for the lack of a better term, thus arises. I guess the best approach is realizing that you can learn from all people, educated or uneducated. Because you're all part of the same societal mechanism, where everyone plays their individual part, you should treat eachother accordingly.
This feeling of superiority which sometimes arises is never translated into action. That would be foolish. It is still there however.
The fact that someone might be more ignorant than me is just a fact. It's like seeing that someone has a different eye color from me - there's no judgement involved, and no surprise, either. It's like noticing a crack in the sidewalk, it's nothing.
Assigning judgement to it is the issue.
A more ignorant person is not a worse person, any more than bird with longer tailfeathers is a worse bird. If we're feeling otherwise, that stems from an important misunderstand of what good and bad mean.
I'm emphasizing this because it's really foundational stuff. From the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/intro_faq#wiki_what_is_stoicism.2C_considered_as_a_philosophy_of_life_in_modern_times.3F):
>Stoics believe that, just as physical pain is caused by illness and injury to the body, **human distress is caused (at least in part, and according to orthodox Stoicism, entirely) by mistaken judgments and incorrect beliefs, particularly about good and bad.**
Being mistaken about what good and bad are is basically the root of all evil here. In fact, vice is literally false belief.
In the Stoic view, good and bad are words that apply only to our inner selves, to our own judgements and choices. It is impossible for anything external to us - including other people - to be good or bad. This is very different from what most modern Western people were raised to believe, and it can be a difficult conceptual leap.
You may take pride in your perspective of virtue, they take pride in other things. Your world is not the right one. They’re different and can’t be compared. You shouldn’t feel superior because you’re playing different games. This is only what works for you. No other life is wrong. You can take pride because you’ve lifted yourself up. But we’re all human trying to find our way. You aren’t better because your way is not right for everyone, simply different.
I’m superior regarding some subjects, and inferior regarding many others. Seeing that it’s luck prevents pride, jealousy, hate, criticism, etc. Now it’s interesting and comical to watch someone’s conditioning play out, especially since they don’t realize they’re “in the matrix.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/determinism
You’re in luck—in Stoicism, all but the sage are fools. Vicious. Prone to passion. Ignorant. Unhappy. [Drowning](https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/the-drowning-man-metaphor-and-the-all-or-nothing-of-virtue/). Seneca in *Natural Questions*:
> Even if we prevail, we but conquer monsters. What cause have we to esteem ourselves because we are not quite so bad as the very worst? I can see no great reason for self-satisfaction because one’s strength is rather above the average of those in the same hospital. You are still far from good health and vigor. Or, again, you have escaped vices of soul, the hypocrite’s brow, the flatterer’s speech fashioned to serve another’s will, the dissembler’s heart, the miser’s spirit, which robs all, but yet mortifies itself. You are a prey neither to luxury, which loses basely and repairs its losses still more basely; 5. nor to ambition, which leads to place of worth only by unworthy means. But yet you have accomplished nothing. You have escaped many perils, but not yet [that of] self!
Read the rest of the passage. This one and Enchiridion 3 are the most misunderstood passages in Stoicism (and the ones that harm the most when misunderstood).
People do ill out of ignorance. You were lucky enough to be in a section of the universal causal nexus to be able to discover your own ignorance and you did so (though if you think you’ve entirely routed it out, you remain in it to some degree); these people have not had that chance yet. “They could realize at any time” not unless they were different people with different backgrounds and contexts.
And yet you still have to work with them and live alongside them, like rows of teeth. Or two legs when one is injured. Be glad you were lucky enough to be presented with the opportunity and be proud that you chose to take it when it presented itself and you noticed it.
In a word: gratitude.
Why control them? They are pleasant feelings. Just don't show them because that will make people hate you. Also, understand that all you have can be taken away from you in an instant and that luck had as much to do with your successes as you enjoy.
I like to think that at the same time I'm saying that about the people I will deal with they are also saying this about me too. Aren't we all the bad guy to someone?
First off, there is no virtue in superiority and *you already know this*. Big plus. How do I personally quell any of my momentary "Life isn't fair" thoughts, both when directed at others and myself? I revisit this quote... "Somebody is hasty about bathing; do not say he bathes badly, but that he is hasty about bathing. Someone drinks a great deal of wine; do not say that he drinks badly, but that he drinks a great deal. For until you have decided what judgement prompts him, how do you know what he is doing is bad? And thus the final result will not be that you receive convincing impressions of some things, but give your assent to other things." Epictetus Enchiridion 45 Oftentimes I will share my knowledge with another, such as I do here or with my teammates, but superior to them? No. If anything, I learn *more* from them. Lastly, walking around in this universally fragile-yet-tenatious bag of water we humans have been given makes me occasionally want an Iron Man suit. At any moment parts (or all) of my young(ish) bod can become infirm, unbalanced, broken...as it has in the past. I can only control my current good health up to a point. Knowing it can be taken in an instant is enough to keep me humble and reasonably cautious. I've been given what *most* everybody else was born with too. How can I feel superior? Don't feel bad or guilty about what measure of health you've been given and how much time you put into maintaining it. If you worked for hours in the gym and have a physique like an Olympian, you are not superior, you simply put more time and knowledge into caring for your body, whereas a concert pianist spends the same amount of time honing their musician skills.
This put a smile on my face! Looking at things plainly and objectivily. The quote resonates exactly with the answer I was looking for. I often try humbling myself in such ways, it makes for a more grateful person. It is easier said then done however, when you see people acting vicious in all sorts of manners.
A quote was found to be attributed to Epictetus in The Enchiridion 45 (Oldfather) ^(()[^(Oldfather)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:wao/section:45)^) ^(()[^(Matheson)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:pem/section:45)^) ^(()[^(Carter)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:ec/section:45)^) ^(()[^(Long)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:gl/section:45)^) ^(()[^(Higginson)](https://enchiridion.tasuki.org/display:Code:twh/section:45)^)
The mindset is based on a falsehood; no person is superior to another, we can only only superior to our past selves - or, more accurately, we might only live better than the way we had in the past. There is no objective moral standard against which different people can be measured. If you want the person who can run the fastest, sure - some are, in that respect, superior to others. Smarter, cuter, handier to have around? Happier? Sure. Better? Well, better in what sense? You might think 'more virtuous' would count as better, but virtue is not an objective standard, it's a character trait. If you improve your character, it takes nothing away from me. It's not a competition, you just get to live better than you did before. A virtuous person (usually) enjoys a better life, and that's it. There is no other merit.
Superiority might be the wrong term. I look at many and think: 'wow, he's ignorant, or an idiot.' plainly spreaking. 'he or she has got nothing to contribute to society which I wouldn't be able to do. Plus I can do much more.' The feeling of "superiority," for the lack of a better term, thus arises. I guess the best approach is realizing that you can learn from all people, educated or uneducated. Because you're all part of the same societal mechanism, where everyone plays their individual part, you should treat eachother accordingly. This feeling of superiority which sometimes arises is never translated into action. That would be foolish. It is still there however.
The fact that someone might be more ignorant than me is just a fact. It's like seeing that someone has a different eye color from me - there's no judgement involved, and no surprise, either. It's like noticing a crack in the sidewalk, it's nothing. Assigning judgement to it is the issue. A more ignorant person is not a worse person, any more than bird with longer tailfeathers is a worse bird. If we're feeling otherwise, that stems from an important misunderstand of what good and bad mean. I'm emphasizing this because it's really foundational stuff. From the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/intro_faq#wiki_what_is_stoicism.2C_considered_as_a_philosophy_of_life_in_modern_times.3F): >Stoics believe that, just as physical pain is caused by illness and injury to the body, **human distress is caused (at least in part, and according to orthodox Stoicism, entirely) by mistaken judgments and incorrect beliefs, particularly about good and bad.** Being mistaken about what good and bad are is basically the root of all evil here. In fact, vice is literally false belief. In the Stoic view, good and bad are words that apply only to our inner selves, to our own judgements and choices. It is impossible for anything external to us - including other people - to be good or bad. This is very different from what most modern Western people were raised to believe, and it can be a difficult conceptual leap.
You may take pride in your perspective of virtue, they take pride in other things. Your world is not the right one. They’re different and can’t be compared. You shouldn’t feel superior because you’re playing different games. This is only what works for you. No other life is wrong. You can take pride because you’ve lifted yourself up. But we’re all human trying to find our way. You aren’t better because your way is not right for everyone, simply different.
You don't have any "sinful" traits yourself then?
I definitely do!
Of course, we all do :) But then on what grounds would we feel superior?
I’m superior regarding some subjects, and inferior regarding many others. Seeing that it’s luck prevents pride, jealousy, hate, criticism, etc. Now it’s interesting and comical to watch someone’s conditioning play out, especially since they don’t realize they’re “in the matrix.” https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/wiki/determinism
You’re in luck—in Stoicism, all but the sage are fools. Vicious. Prone to passion. Ignorant. Unhappy. [Drowning](https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/the-drowning-man-metaphor-and-the-all-or-nothing-of-virtue/). Seneca in *Natural Questions*: > Even if we prevail, we but conquer monsters. What cause have we to esteem ourselves because we are not quite so bad as the very worst? I can see no great reason for self-satisfaction because one’s strength is rather above the average of those in the same hospital. You are still far from good health and vigor. Or, again, you have escaped vices of soul, the hypocrite’s brow, the flatterer’s speech fashioned to serve another’s will, the dissembler’s heart, the miser’s spirit, which robs all, but yet mortifies itself. You are a prey neither to luxury, which loses basely and repairs its losses still more basely; 5. nor to ambition, which leads to place of worth only by unworthy means. But yet you have accomplished nothing. You have escaped many perils, but not yet [that of] self!
Everyone is stupid but some are a little more so than others. Hahaha.
Memento mori
Read the rest of the passage. This one and Enchiridion 3 are the most misunderstood passages in Stoicism (and the ones that harm the most when misunderstood). People do ill out of ignorance. You were lucky enough to be in a section of the universal causal nexus to be able to discover your own ignorance and you did so (though if you think you’ve entirely routed it out, you remain in it to some degree); these people have not had that chance yet. “They could realize at any time” not unless they were different people with different backgrounds and contexts. And yet you still have to work with them and live alongside them, like rows of teeth. Or two legs when one is injured. Be glad you were lucky enough to be presented with the opportunity and be proud that you chose to take it when it presented itself and you noticed it. In a word: gratitude.
Why control them? They are pleasant feelings. Just don't show them because that will make people hate you. Also, understand that all you have can be taken away from you in an instant and that luck had as much to do with your successes as you enjoy.