Freedom Through Bravery

"He who is brave is free."

Seneca

Dazed111 submitted this quote to the Stoic reddit and it jumped out at me. It makes sense. What is freedom but the ability to act in accordance to your preferences?

Hang on. As I type that I am reminded that freedom is more than that*. Epictetus, while a slave, would probably have preferred not to be a slave, and yet in his mind he was free. He was not free to act in accordance with his preferences, and yet he was still free.

Some Stoic somewhere (I think it was Epictetus) said, in reference to the experience of dying in one's bed, "The battlefield isn't the only place where courage is shown."

Bravery allows us to act despite our fears, and bravery allows us to endure despite our fears. Admiral Stockdale displayed bravery when he was being tortured in a Vietnamese prison. He resisted when he could and he endured when he could not resist. He came out of the experience unbroken.

So perhaps freedom is the ability to detach from our circumstances and remain whole (or happy). Perhaps bravery, then, is the acceptance of the risks required of freedom. Bravery gives us the determination we need to mold ourselves despite our circumstances. Bravery allows action, whether it be a physical action or a mental action.

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." Epictetus said that. That's bravery. That's what will set you free.

* * *

This is not a rhetorical device. It actually did occur to me as I typed.