“There is a saying that Seneca said: ‘While you teach, you learn’.” Gac Filipaj 

Gac Filipaj, graduated with honors from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution, in 2012. But there was something unusual about him. He was then a 52-year-old immigrant, working as a janitor at the university. How did that happen? According to Gac, he was inspired by Seneca’s Moral Letters. 

An Albanian immigrant fleeing violence 

Twenty years earlier, in 1992, Gac, an ethnic Albanian, left Montenegro and fled the Yugoslav republic that was facing a brutal civil war. He was about to be drafted into the Yugoslavian army which meant he had to fight Albanians. Not wanting to do that, he fled Yugoslavia, even before he completed his schooling. He managed to get into the US and get a job as a janitor at Columbia University in New York, mopping floors, taking out trash, and cleaning toilets. 

Inspired by Seneca’s Moral Letters 

Well, if you are an immigrant janitor when you are forty with scant knowledge of English you may assume that your past has worked against you, you are imprisoned by it, and there is not a lot you can do about it. But Gac was inspired by his reading of Seneca’s letters (Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium) and aspired to have a simple, honest, honorable life. 

He soon found out that, as an employee of the university, he could study for free. But first, he had to attend English classes and learn English, which he did before starting to work on his degree. With a full-time job and having to attend classes during the day, it took him 12 years but eventually he graduated. He wrote his thesis on the Stoic philosopher, Seneca. 

At the time of graduation, Gac was earning $22 an hour in his job as a janitor. He used that to support not only himself but his brother, sister-in-law, and two kids who lived back in in Montenegro, foregoing even common things such as a cellphone and a computer. 

Since then, he has completed his Masters’ degree and hopes to do his PhD as well. Currently he works as a custodian at Columbia University. 

Education as a preferred indifferent 

What the Stoic would applaud here is NOT Gac’s success in getting a degree, praiseworthy as it may be. However, for Stoics, success is also an indifferent, not necessary for one’s freedom. What is critical here is that he did not let the past hinder him in what he wanted to achieve. His lack of knowledge of English, his age, his position in life – none of these could hinder him. He was free of his past. 

But if succeeding or failing are both “indifferents,” why should he bother? He might as well not have toiled, worked late, and educated himself. He could have spent his money and time in bars and coffee houses having a relaxing time. Why did I even bother to bring up his story? 

Stoics actually distinguish two types of indifferents: preferred indifferents and dispreferred indifferents. For example, health is an indifferent, because it is not within our control and is not necessary for our freedom and happiness. But if we had a choice, would we rather be healthy or sick? Healthy, of course. Being healthy then is a preferred indifferent. For Gac, obtaining an education was a preferred indifferent. So he worked toward that end. If he had failed to graduate, from a Stoic perspective, he would still be free of the past. 

What we go after in life – things such as reputation, health, wealth, and education – are “indifferents” or “moral neutrals.” For example, money is an indifferent, neither good nor bad, morally neutral. If you use the money to feed yourself, to feed your family, to support a charity, then it is “good,” it is a preferred indifferent. But if you use the money to buy hard drugs or fund terrorism, then it is “bad,” a dispreferred indifferent. 

In the Stoic scheme of things the indifferents play an interesting role. Preferred indifferents provide us the means to use things that are not needed for our freedom. They can enhance our enjoyment of life. And yet they are not needed for our freedom and are not in our total control. So we can enjoy them as long as they are under our control and let them go without complaining when conditions change. 

As Seneca pointed out, a wise man knows how to handle preferred indifferents. He neither seeks “fortune’s bounty, nor rejects it, nor mourns its loss.” Stoics do not reject the world they live in. They are very much an active part of it while still being independent of whatever comes their way. 

Adapted from Unshakable Freedom by Chuck Chakrapani, published by The Stoic Gym. amzn.to/2T7cXIF with additional information from elite daily. 

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