The Path to Freedom vs the Path to Slavery
As I noted in the last episode, the focus of this podcast series exploring the Encheiridion will be Epictetus’ concept of freedom, which is not the same as the commonly held concept of freedom as a human right or political entitlement. Epictetus designed his Stoic training program to free us from the judgments, desires, and impulses that enslave us psychologically. This program works even if we are bound in real physical chains, constrained by prison bars, or living under a tyrannical rule that denies us that commonly held conception of freedom. Therefore, as we proceed through the Encheiridion, we must set aside the idea of freedom as it relates to our physical autonomy and political liberty. That is not what Epictetus is talking about. For him, enslavement does not entail chains or bars. Instead, the slave is the person bound by their passions and false beliefs. Freedom, therefore, is emancipation from those psychological bonds, and Stoic training is the path toward that true form of freedom.[1]
This opening chapter of the Encheiridion presents us with two paths: the path of slavery and the path of freedom. Most people choose the path of slavery and remain bound by their desires for things and events not within their control—not up to us. They desire and seek things powerless to produce true well-being, servile to external circumstances, and impeded by the actions of others. As a result, they are frustrated, psychologically pained, have a troubled mind, and blame external circumstances (God) and other people for their unhappiness. Fortunately, Epictetus provides us with an alternative path—the Stoic path toward true freedom. This path teaches us to break the bonds of those externals and to desire and seek only those things that are in our complete control and thus are naturally free from external circumstances, unimpeded by others, and unconstrained by Nature. Epictetus makes an astounding promise to those who follow the Stoic path toward that true form of freedom. He says:
No one will ever put pressure on you, no one will impede you, you will not reproach anyone, you will not blame anyone, you will not do a single thing reluctantly, no one will harm you, you will have no enemy, because nothing harmful will happen to you. (Ench 1)
When we read that promise, it naturally inclines us to ask: Who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want that life of ultimate freedom? Almost everyone will nod in agreement and say they want that life of psychological well-being. However, most people will not follow the Stoic path toward true freedom because it requires significant effort and entails a commitment to the transformation of our thoughts and behaviors. That commitment deters most people. Sadly, most people choose to remain enslaved by their passions and false beliefs. They lack the motivation needed to achieve these “great things” the Stoic path promises. Those who do find the motivation to embark on a philosophical way of life do so for a variety of reasons. Whatever the motive, those who embark on the Stoic path are seeking something they do not currently have, and that is psychological well-being. They may have been seeking happiness in externals such as wealth, health, reputation, etc., and now realize those things only provide the illusion of well-being. This brings us to the point of departure for the Stoic path—the choice to desire and seek only what is up to us and treat everything else as indifferent to our true well-being.
As Epictetus makes perfectly clear, the list of things completely within our control—up to us—is quite short: That list includes “our faculties of judgment, *motivation, *desire, and *aversion—in short, everything that is our own doing.” The alternative list—not up to us—includes “our body and property, our reputations, and our official positions—in short, everything that is not our own doing.” William Irvine, who popularized the phrase “dichotomy of control”[2] also attempted to expand it into a “trichotomy.” That is not what Epictetus, or the other Stoics, had in mind when they delineated what is and is not up to us (eph’ hêmin). As Keith Seddon, an independent scholar and practicing Stoic notes:
When Epictetus talks of things being in our power or not in our power (Handbook 1.1–2) he means this in an absolute sense. For Epictetus, for something to depend on us, to be in our power, in our control, or up to us, this must be so invariably and always.[3]
In other words, if any event or thing is even partially under the control of or dependent upon another person or external circumstance, then it is NOT up to us. For those who have questions about this concept, I refer you to What Is “Up to Us”? - Episode 6 of Stoicism On Fire. For our purposes, keep in mind that up to us means completely up to us. If a thing or event is only partially in our control, it is not up to us.
The Choice
The choice Epictetus is presenting us is simple to understand yet exceedingly difficult to practice consistently. Nature presents us with two distinct paths, and we must choose which one to follow. The traveler of the first path desires and seeks good health, physical beauty, possessions, a good reputation, and high office or power, etc.—things that are not up to us—and ends up emotionally frustrated, psychologically pained, with a troubled mind. In the end, they blame external circumstances, including God other people, for their unhappiness. However, the traveler of the Stoic path desires and seeks to develop an excellent character by developing their faculties of judgment, eliminating inappropriate desires and aversions—things that are up to us—and are therefore unimpeded, unharmed, do nothing reluctantly, have no enemies, and blame no one for their circumstances. They experience true freedom—psychological well-being.
The choice Epictetus presents us with could not be clearer or more distinct—we choose the path toward a troubled mind or the path to psychological well-being. The choice is ours, but the choice is not an easy one and neither is the path we must continue to follow after that initial choice is made. Nevertheless, before we continue, I want my listeners to be clear about what this choice does not entail. First, it is not a choice between good and bad things; that is a different topic. This is a choice between what is and is not up to us. Many of the things that are not up to us are, nonetheless, preferred indifferents that we may appropriately choose under the right circumstances. Some, like participating in the care of one’s family, community, nation, and all of humanity are actual duties we should engage in as Stoics. As Stoics we are called to step out of the Epicurean garden and into the Stoic cosmopolis, and we should engage in just causes with courage, wisdom, and moderation. Nevertheless, our success or failure in these endeavors has no bearing on our psychological well-being. Ultimately, we must accept that all quests for social justice, political equality, world peace, environmental conservation, etc., are externals that are not up to us. We must keep that in mind. Second, this choice is not a call to renounce indifferents entirely; it is the choice to understand their true nature and treat them as inconsequential to the development of our moral character and our well-being. As Epictetus instructs, we may need to renounce many externals for a while; however, Stoicism is not a call to the life of an ascetic renunciate.
We need to keep an important distinction in mind as we proceed on the Stoic path. Preferred indifferents like good health, property, reputation, and positions of power and authority are not incompatible with the Stoic path toward freedom; they are inconsequential to it. Possessing externals does not impede our path toward freedom. Instead, it is our desire for them and our fear of not having them that leads to psychological distress. As we will see in Encheiridion 15, if fate brings us these preferred indifferent while we are at the banquet of life, we can stretch out our hand and take a portion. However, we must not extend our desire toward them.
Stoicism teaches us we can be truly free even while imprisoned, living in slavery or under tyrannical rule, or while sick and impoverished. This is certainly counterintuitive when viewed from the perspective of modernity. However, it is the most profound truth Stoicism has to offer—any psychological misery we endure is the misery of our own making via our judgments, desires, and aversions. The corollary is also true. If we desire and seek externals for our happiness, “everyone with authority over any of our circumstances is bound to be our master” (Discourses 4.1.59). Epictetus makes this point perfectly clear: If you desire externals, “you are giving yourself up to slavery and submitting your neck to the yoke” (Discourses 4.1.77).
A Demanding Path
This bring us to the reason why most people remain on the path of slavery to our desires and false beliefs. Epictetus tells us we must be “highly motivated” if we want to “achieve such great things.” What are those great things? A life that is naturally free from external circumstances, unimpeded by others, and unconstrained by Nature because it seeks only what is within our complete control—an excellent moral character. It is a life of virtue and well-being. The Stoic path of freedom is not an easy path. We should not expect it to be easy when we consider the “great things” it offers. As Epictetus makes clear, the path requires that we “forego some things completely, and postpone others for the present.” Why? Because we cannot pursue those “great things”—freedom and well-being—while we simultaneously desire and pursue preferred indifferents like “prominence and wealth.” Epictetus advises that if we pursue both simultaneously,
