Understanding Marcus Aurelius
by TPO
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"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth."
~ Marcus Aurelis.
Let us open our eyes, our minds and our intellect. What do we take from this succinct and unmuddled quote?
The message is simple enough in itself. But in fact, it is one that requires reflection and deeper contemplation. We are being challenged to to think more, and to understand more.
I don't think Marcus Aurelius is debunking established facts or realities. On the contrary, I am certain he is urging us to consider our relation to what is around us ... our preconceptions, our biases, and our temperament. This is the area where we can be easily led astray by the media, by snake oil salesmen, by con artists, by clergy, by politicians, and by dictators, etc.
I suggest we should concentrate on the word "perspective" here. But as an extension of that, the wise emperor is also asking us to consider "the thing" in front of us (the matter, the problem, the statement), ... to ask what it is, and what its essence is in and of itself (unbiased or unsoiled by outside forces) ... then, maybe we can decide for ourselves what to make of it!
