Critical thinking for the Greeks was a Purification Rite
Critical thinking for the Greeks was not a theoretical exercise in higher-order thinking-skills to score well on some Standardized Test divorced from real life. It was rather a purification rite to purge the soul of the unexamined attitudes and values of one’s polis, tribe, or tradition into which one was born.
It was a means of undergoing a disciplined process of inner-cleansing to make oneself a worthy recipient of the philosophical doctrines one was studying and would soon profess publicly and embody in one’s life as an example to others.
In short, it was part of a spiritual process, a kind of novitiate whereby one underwent a series of exercises to rid oneself of beliefs, attitudes, and values that would lead one astray from the ideal of the examined life.
It was a way of being in the world yet not of its spirit, a way of giving public witness to an inner life profoundly different from that of others. It was a long and exacting process of sustained self-clarification about the need of escaping the prison of one’s culture as immortalized by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, that symbol of the solitary wayfarer seeking release from one’s culture with its myths and illusions. It was the pursuit of the Grail, the Pearl of Great Price, the Golden Fleece, the Way of the Samurai, and a spiritual Quest of lifelong duration, a way of preparing oneself for a life of virtue, something of paramount importance as the only thing that mattered in life.
It was the ancient precursor of the medieval monastic religious orders with one major difference: their singleness of purpose made them live not in the isolation of a cloistered precinct, but in the midst of the world while they lived their life of detachment. It was a radically different way of understanding the world and human existence.
Not that they always succeeded in living up to such an exalted ideal, but they earnestly strove to do so; and it was this ceaseless struggle at attempting to be worthy of their calling that set them apart.
The following are among the maxims from their poets, playwrights, and philosophers that provided guidance for those who lived “the examined life.”
Wealth consists not in having many possessions, but in having few wants.
There is only one way to happiness: cease worrying about the things which are beyond our control.
All of philosophy is contained in four words: endure and do without.
Do not seek what is good from without, but seek it within yourself, or you will never find it.
The trials we endure introduce us to our strengths.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself.
Riches can never make a bad man at peace with himself.
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.
Virtue consists not in avoiding wrongdoing, but not even wanting to do wrong.
I am the richer for what I can do without.
Do not say or do what is base, even when you are alone.
This is courage in man — to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends.
Happiness is brief.
Men’s anger from disaster is terrible, and their hearts begin to lose their way.
Desire for the impossible makes many lose what they have.
Each one of us must live the life God gives us.
Man is nothing but breath and shadow.
Wisdom comes only through suffering.
It is not good for men to obtain all they desire.
A man’s character is his fate.
Good character is not formed in a week or a month.
Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become.
Creatures of a day, man is but a shadow’s dream.
Good cheer is the best of healers.
Three Ways of Embodying this Ancient Ideal in the Modern World
Fallacy Detection, Statement Classification, and Conditioning Factors are the three essential ways of embodying this ancient ideal in today’s modern world. They constantly remind us that we are not objective observers of the human condition, and unless we take steps to minimize their influence upon us, they will leave us bereft of any means of defending ourselves. We have two choices: either capitulate by accepting their control over our lives or struggle against them.
We must master these three Arts of Detecting Fallacies, Statement Classification, and Conditioning Factors not for passing a test, but to become a more aware person to lead a better life and become a better person.
Some reach a point in their lives when they refuse to be dominated by these factors any longer. This moment of awakening changes students forever so that school now becomes a preparation for life. As the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca put it, Non scholae sed vitae discimus. It is not for school that we learn, but for life.
School, academics, and the growth of one’s mind now have only one purpose: to prepare them for life. They begin to integrate both learning and life into one unified whole that gives their lives a newfound coherence that allows them to see everything in proper perspective. They now begin to become an adult, someone who takes sole responsibility for their existence and actions.
However, it is also important to realize that such resolutions are ideals, and that achieving them is always much harder than aspiring to them after the charm and novelty wear off.
In attempting to reach these ideals, there is a lifetime of struggle and failure that proves only one thing — that we are human, but we nonetheless keep trying. It’s like weeding a garden. Weeds have a way of always returning. It’s their nature, as it’s the nature of critical thinkers to be continually vigilant in uprooting them again.
The Essence of the Examined Life
Leading the examined life isn’t accepting the ideas of the group or tradition into which one was born, although it certainly could be if those inherited ideas are critically examined and found worthy of acceptance. It’s not what’s believed, but how and why it’s believed that is crucial.
It’s one thing to believe in one’s tradition as a child when young, and quite another to do so as a young adult. The examined life is living counter to the drift of one’s culture and being responsible to oneself alone and not living by the standards of a mass culture.
This is what Socrates was trying to say when he was condemned to death for following his conscience rather than conforming to the views of Athens. So inspiring was his towering example and noble vision that the renowned 16th-century Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam once exclaimed: Sancte Socrates, ora pro nobis.
The Importance of Role-Play and Empathy
However, there is also a fourth way of embodying this ancient ideal of escaping the cave of one’s culture and that is Role-Play. The ability to get out of oneself to identify, sympathize, and empathize with others is a skill of utmost importance in enabling one to understand others as to how they see the world.
There are those who find this skill relatively easy to learn, whereas others find it difficult if not impossible because they are so sure that they’re right that it’s inconceivable that they could ever be wrong. And yet it is precisely this absolute certainty that one is right that can lead to self-delusion and the refusal to listen to others.
It is as if they were saying to themselves, why should they waste their time and energy on those who are so obviously wrong, and yet it is precisely this lack of respect toward others even to hear them out that causes them to remain forever entombed in their own mind, which can be likened to a prison with no chance of reprieve.
The curative power of empathy is the only healing ointment for such a solipsistic condition that would allow them to transcend themselves by wanting to understand others. It could be a Damascus moment that could change them forever.
If you’re a young man, try to see the world through your girlfriend’s eyes or vice versa. Or become someone of a different race, religion, nationality, or social class and try to see life as they might. Start out small by taking a series of concerns, problems or issues and feel your way into them.
Or role-play someone who is married, divorced, or widowed, and what would you see? Or a Democrat, Republican, or Socialist; a blue- or white-collar worker or one of the professions; or an historical or fictional character.
Bring to bear all your powers of empathy, humanity, and life experience. Take your time and let their world slowly open up to you. If you’re an inveterate reader of novels that invite you into the consciousness of several characters, you already do this.
Role-Play as Self-Transformation
In the process, forget yourself in becoming this person and how he or she might experience the world. Perhaps even role-play someone who refuses to consider another viewpoint, someone prejudiced or closed-minded, and how he or she became that way.
Imagine what could have happened to shut down their ability to identify with the inner life of others. Befriend them, get to know them, and ask to hear their story about what happened in their early life to explain how they came to become who they are now.
The one thing you must never do, however, is to judge or dislike them because by doing so you will never understand anyone.
We understand only what we love. If it’s understanding you want, never judge or hate, but simply try to understand them as their advocate who would have to defend them in court.
While doing this, you’ll begin to change. You’ll have different eyes that let you see more deeply into their soul in non-judgmental ways, the only true way of understanding anyone. In going out to meet them while leaving yourself behind, everything they say will make sense if seen through their eyes.
Many high-school and college students can already do this, even understanding older people. Perhaps their grandparents are a part of their lives or they’re interested in others because they find them intriguing.
If you’re a drama student, you do this all the time — always looking at people, projecting yourself into their hearts and minds to give a convincing portrayal of how they speak, breathe, and gesture. From there you’re led inward, allowing yourself to be surprised at every turn as they begin to reveal themselves to you.
This is why drama students love the stage — to discover their characters, themselves, and the mystery at the heart of everything human by acting.
Everyone sees things in different ways, and you begin to understand why the ability to role-play different people will enable you to see things you never could have imagined while being yourself.
You learn that yours is not the only way of seeing the world, and that you need more room to walk around and flex the legs of your imagination, be augmented and cured of too much self-absorption by becoming your fellow human beings as you seek to understand them from within.
And don’t forget that old French proverb: To understand all is to forgive all.
Frank Breslin is a retired high-school teacher in the New Jersey public school system.
