Things ordinary people are impressed by fall into the categories of things that are held together by simple physics (like stones or wood), or by natural growth (figs, vines, olives …). Those admired by more advanced minds are held together by a living soul (flocks of sheep, herds of cows). Still more sophisticated people admire what is guided by a rational mind—not the universal mind, but one admired for its technical knowledge, or for some other skill—or just because it happens to own a lot of slaves.
But those who revere that other mind—the one we all share, as humans and as citizens—aren’t interested in other things. Their focus is on the state of their own minds—to avoid all selfishness and illogic, and to work with others to achieve that goal.
Meditations 6.19
Memories of Dan Sullivan’s formulation of this concept. He groups people into four categories:
- They think about things. “Look at my car!” They want to improve their lives by better possessions. Hedonic treadmill.
- They think about people. “The Kardashians . . . .” I’m not sure of the desire here. Escapism? All I know is it inevitably leads to envy in me.
- They think about ideas. E.g., professors arguing about ideas, or the endless yammer on the internet about politics. Nothing changes in my life if I just intellectualize about externals. “Look how smart I am.”
- They think about their thinking. Their own ideas (not external ideas) and rigorous attention to the pursuit of truth is what matters. they want to become better thinkers. This is where I want to be.
Marcus Aurelius uses a similar classification here.