This idea is from The Republic, by Plato, written in about 360 BC. The Republic is probably the most famous book in all of philosophy. Read my mini-review and overall impressions of Plato's The Republic.
The charming thing is that they deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth, which is simply that, unless they give up eating and drinking and wrenching and idling, neither drug nor cautery nor spell nor amulet nor any other remedy will avail.
~Plato, The Republic (Book IV)
Boy, does this sound familiar. In our modern society we are completely hooked on the idea that drugs are the cure of every ailment. Even most people who eschew drugs are often fascinated by alternative remedies or faith healing techniques.
While these solutions can act as a band-aid on our symptoms, no one wants to admit the root causes. Overeating, drinking, uncontrolled emotions, and our sedentary lifestyles are the true causes of the vast majority of our ailments. If we would just live like humans were meant to, most of our physical and psychological problems would vanish.
This can be tough to accomplish in our modern society. But we ought to be grateful that overeating, over drinking, and idleness are actually options. Prior to the last century or so, only aristocrats and nobility had this privilege. It is truly a testament to our society where even the poorest among us live better than the kings of old times.
Think of a television set. This is akin to a king's court. A king would always have a variety of entertainers for his amusement. It seems that whenever given the opportunity, we love to be passively entertained. And now, most of us have television sets with more than 100 channels. If we don't like the entertainment that one of our "courts" is providing us, we can quickly skip to another. Unfortunately, this has contributed to idleness and a more sedentary lifestyle. We don't walk anymore, but rather ride in cars. Our bodies are never tested by the elements, we live in climate controlled boxes. We eat better, richer, denser food than any king ever ate.
Yes, it may be more difficult than in past eras for an average man to follow Plato's advice, but we owe it to ourselves to do our best. Nay, we Americans are the aristocrats of humanity, and we owe it to the rest of our fellow humans to lead with a good example.
What Next?
See more ideas from The Republic
See more ideas from Plato
Read The Republic for free Online
Learn more, read reviews at Amazon
The charming thing is that they deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth, which is simply that, unless they give up eating and drinking and wrenching and idling, neither drug nor cautery nor spell nor amulet nor any other remedy will avail.~Plato, The Republic (Book IV)
Boy, does this sound familiar. In our modern society we are completely hooked on the idea that drugs are the cure of every ailment. Even most people who eschew drugs are often fascinated by alternative remedies or faith healing techniques.
While these solutions can act as a band-aid on our symptoms, no one wants to admit the root causes. Overeating, drinking, uncontrolled emotions, and our sedentary lifestyles are the true causes of the vast majority of our ailments. If we would just live like humans were meant to, most of our physical and psychological problems would vanish.
This can be tough to accomplish in our modern society. But we ought to be grateful that overeating, over drinking, and idleness are actually options. Prior to the last century or so, only aristocrats and nobility had this privilege. It is truly a testament to our society where even the poorest among us live better than the kings of old times.
Think of a television set. This is akin to a king's court. A king would always have a variety of entertainers for his amusement. It seems that whenever given the opportunity, we love to be passively entertained. And now, most of us have television sets with more than 100 channels. If we don't like the entertainment that one of our "courts" is providing us, we can quickly skip to another. Unfortunately, this has contributed to idleness and a more sedentary lifestyle. We don't walk anymore, but rather ride in cars. Our bodies are never tested by the elements, we live in climate controlled boxes. We eat better, richer, denser food than any king ever ate.
Yes, it may be more difficult than in past eras for an average man to follow Plato's advice, but we owe it to ourselves to do our best. Nay, we Americans are the aristocrats of humanity, and we owe it to the rest of our fellow humans to lead with a good example.
What Next?
See more ideas from The Republic
See more ideas from Plato
Read The Republic for free Online
Learn more, read reviews at Amazon
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Do you agree with this idea? Perhaps you like the idea but you disagree with my interpretation? Let your voice be heard.