Epictetus was a Greek philosopher, a Stoic, who freed himself from slavery by his intelligence and use of his mind. The educated are free because they can free their “bonds” and use their minds to question, challenge, explore thoughts, theories as well as themselves and others. This quote was the motto of our original education aid charity in Nepal where we were horrified to discover so little progress in education since Dr C’s early school days in Kathmandu. In the capital city and beyond, young girls are prevented from attending school in many cases, their parents believing it is more important for them to work around the home or care for younger siblings. Young boys are also made to work in the fields rather than attend school. And, some families even “sell” their children as indentured servants to wealthy households in return for an income to feed themselves. Don’t blame the parents for this, it is a greedy and corrupt elite caste running government and districts who keep the poor trapped in a mire of low quality education or none at all. Epictetus was right, only the educated are free.

Categories: Philosophy

Tags: education, Epictetus, Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal, Philosophy, quality education, Quotations