What Does It Mean?

To me, one of the most interesting things about humans is how considerably different all of our lives are from one another. It is because of this that our approach to “living” and “what life should be about” should differ as well, and it does. For years, people have created theories about what they believe to be most important, like Aristotle and Epictetus. For example, Aristotle believed that the importance of life revolved around happiness and virtue, while Epictetus felt that life could only be truly enjoyed if people accepted what was out of their control.

Is there not a chance that mankind’s quality of life could possibly increase if people were to adopt mindsets like these? The answer to this is yes, but only in theory. In theory, if everyone could go through life with an unbiased point of view, people would be able to live happier and healthier lives. However, this is unrealistic because people base their opinions on what they have been exposed to. Also, humans will always be biased to some extent, simply because of the selfish nature of mankind.

Therefore, I believe that Aristotle and Epictetus created theories based on how they wished for humans to view life, instead of how they actually do.