Philosophy is like a kind of magic spell: you only need to say the right words in the right order and with the right intent you can change your world.
Philosophy can turn poverty into wealth and sickness into health; it can free you from constraints, from the power of tyrants, from the fear of harm; it can protect you from yourself and warn you of errors before you make them; it can turn bad fortune into good. It is like a protective shield that makes you invulnerable to misfortune.
Its effectiveness is limited to certain types of things. It has no power over ‘natural’ phenomena, like hunger or thirst. You cannot think yourself fed or hydrated. But for everything else, philosophy teaches you that you can control your world with your reasoning faculty. Understanding what you can and cannot control is one of its greatest lessons.
You think you are poor? Learn philosophy and apply it. Come to understand what really matters and how much you already have and ‘SHAZAM!’, you are wealthy!
You think you are constrained? Learn philosophy and apply it. Come to understand what freedom is and that nothing and no one can prevent you from governing yourself by rules of your own making and ‘SHAZAM!’, you are free!
You think you have suffered bad fortune? Learn philosophy and apply it. Come to understand that bad fortune is more useful than good because it teaches you good lessons and ‘SHAZAM!’, you are fortunate!
You suffer injustice? Learn philosophy and apply it. Come to understand that it is better to suffer injustice than to do it and ‘SHAZAM!’, you suffer nothing!
How does this magic work? Magicians, famously, do not reveal their tricks. Mystics will say it is a mystery accessible only to a special few. But philosophers are different. Nothing is hidden. There are no tricks or esoteric mysteries. Everything is conducted out in the open, in plain sight with no sleight of hand. It is simply a matter of investigating the ideas that we have about things and holding them to a rational account. Learn the method and apply it and it will happen naturally. Anyone can do it, and because of this everyone can benefit from it. It ought to be more widely known.
Epictetus is a slave but remains free. Diogenes has nothing but has everything he needs and wants for nothing. Socrates is convicted but remains just and good. Epicurus calls a day ‘happy’, even though it is his dying day and full of pain. These are not miracles. These are the natural products of a cultivated ability to think well and a sincere attempt to apply it.
Read more: Think Well, Live Well: A Free Introduction to Philosophy
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