This Is How You Become Well-Read | Plato's View

Summary

The Daily Stoic: "This Is How You Become Well-Read | Plato's View"

Host: Ryan Holiday
Date: June 2, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Ryan Holiday explores what it truly means to be "well-read" from both an ancient and modern perspective, using the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius as a prime example. He then transitions into discussing “Plato’s View”—the value of perspective and seeing life from a "bird’s eye view"—using lessons from Marcus, Plato, Lucian, and astronaut Edgar Mitchell. The episode is a meditation on deep reading, lasting wisdom, and how taking a broader perspective can humble us and connect us more deeply to humanity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What It Means to Be Well-Read (00:05–05:52)

• Ancient vs. Modern Understanding:

  • The modern idea of being "well-read" is about quantity—having consumed many books.
  • The ancients valued depth; to be truly well-read meant to deeply understand and internalize a select set of important texts.

  “What [Marcus Aurelius] was doing is drawing purely from memory because he'd read those authors so many times, they'd become a part of him.” (00:38)

• Mortimer Adler & Thomas Hobbes on Reading:

  • Mortimer Adler: Reading widely but not well is pitiable, not praiseworthy.
  • Hobbes: “If I read as many books as other men do, I would be as dull witted as they are.” (01:28)
  • It’s not about reading everything, but about deeply absorbing a curated selection.

• The Stoic Approach to Reading:

  • Depth and repetition are key—rereading is vital.
  • Marcus Aurelius: “We can't be satisfied with merely getting the gist of [Stoic texts]. We have to read attentively, read deeply, read repeatedly. Aim for quality, not quantity.” (03:07)
  • The Daily Stoic Book: Designed as a tool for this kind of daily, deep engagement.

2. Plato’s View: The Value of Perspective (05:53–11:24)

• Marcus Aurelius on Perspective:

  • Quoting Marcus: “Whenever you want to talk about people, it's best to take a bird's eye view and see everything all at once.” (06:05)
  • Marcus is channeling Plato's notion of looking at life from above to realize the triviality and interconnectedness of human affairs.

  “Plato has it right. If you want to talk about people, you need to look down on earth from above… all mixed together. A harmony of opposites.” (06:25)

• Lucian’s Dialogue:

  • The narrator flies above the world and sees the pettiness of status and human "importance."
  • Everything people fight over—estates, armies, empires—appear small and insignificant from above.

• Modern Echoes: Edgar Mitchell’s Space Perspective:

  • Astronaut Mitchell on viewing Earth from space:

    “In outer space, you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles away and say, look at that, you son of a bitch.” (07:40)

• Personal Anecdotes on Gaining Perspective:

  • Ryan discusses seeing his own ranch and his city from a plane or a drone—how things that seem huge up close look small from a distance.
  • Describes the US-Mexico border in Big Bend:

    “Someone born over here gets this kind of life. Someone born on this side gets this kind of life… You realize that all these things we take very seriously are not that serious.” (09:17)

• Zooming Out to Gain Wisdom:

  • The core Stoic exercise is about humbling oneself, gaining perspective, and remembering our connection to other people.
  • Using time lapses, high vantage points, or just looking at the stars as ways to step outside our own insular view.
  • Quotes Annie Duke:

    “They were trying, as Annie Duke says, to get to the outside of their problems, outside of the insularness of their viewpoint and their urges and their desires and their emotional reactions.” (10:50)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reading:
  “The wise read well. If you want to live better, if you want to go beyond the gist of things, I hope you go past just skimming the surface.” (04:21)

• On Perspective:
  “Everything seems very small, but everything also seems very connected, right? And so wars and international boundaries, these all seem so insignificant, such artificial and petty distinctions.” (08:37)

• On Our Obligations:
  “What matters, I think Marcus is saying, when you take Plato's view, is our connection to other people, our obligations as human beings, being good, being decent.” (09:31)

• On Using New Tools for Old Lessons:
  “Drone shots… have expanded my perspective. They've allowed me to see things, even myself, right? From different angles. I never saw what I looked like running from 30 meters above me.” (10:06)

• Key Takeaway:
  “The Stoics were trying to humble themselves. They were trying to get perspective. They were trying to remember our obligations and connections to other people.” (10:19)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:05–05:52 – What it means to be well-read: Ancient vs. modern, the importance of depth, Marcus Aurelius as a model, and Stoic reading habits
• 05:53–11:24 – Exploring “Plato’s view”: Reading Marcus Aurelius, Plato and Lucian, the astronaut’s epiphany, personal stories, the power of perspective, and Stoic exercises
• 06:05 – Recounting Marcus Aurelius’ and Plato’s advice to take a bird’s eye view
• 07:40 – Edgar Mitchell’s quote on how space changed his sense of the world
• 08:37–09:31 – Real-life application of perspective: seeing large problems as small, international boundaries as arbitrary, and the humility of true perspective
• 10:19–10:50 – Summary of the Stoic goal: humility, perspective, and human connection

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Conclusion

Ryan Holiday’s meditation links the disciplined, immersive approach to reading prized by the ancients with the equally ancient call for broad, humble, and humane perspective—the “Plato’s View.” Both practices are prescriptions for a wiser, more compassionate, and more meaningful life. The daily act of thoughtful reading and the periodic act of zooming out from our problems are both part of the Stoic toolkit for living well.

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Episode Flow

1. Being Well-Read:
   Don’t just read widely—read well. Make what matters part of your mind and habits.

2. Perspective (“Plato’s View”):
   Step back, look at the big picture, and realize both the smallness and the connectedness of our lives and concerns.

3. Practical Applications:
   Use daily meditations, high vantage points, or even tools like drones to practice perspective.
   Remember, humility and connection are at the heart of wisdom and Stoicism.

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Recommended: Revisit Stoic texts, read deeply, and take time to see life from above—just as Marcus, Plato, and even astronauts have done.

Transcript

[Ryan Holiday]

Foreign.

[Daily Stoic Host]

Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast, where each day we bring you a Stoic inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life. Each one of these episodes is Based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women to help you learn from them, to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more, visit Dailystoic.com this is how you become well read In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius quotes dozens and dozens of other writers and philosophers. Sometimes he attributes these quotes, sometimes he doesn't. Since he wrote most of Meditations in a battlefield tent, he likely didn't have the reference books beside him while quoting Socrates and Epictetus or Homer. No, what he was doing is is drawing purely from memory because he'd read those authors so many times, they'd become a part of him. This bit of remarkable recall, it demonstrates the ancient approach to being well read, a phrase that has lost its original meaning. According to the philosopher Mortimer Adler, Today we consider someone well read if they've consumed a lot of books. But the ancients valued those who truly knew their material, readers who dove deeply into the classic texts until they genuinely understood and had absorbed them. A person who has read widely, Mortimer says of the modern reader but not well, deserves to be pitied rather than praised. And the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes made a similar if I read as many books as other men do, he said, I would be as dull witted as they are. And this is why reading and re reading a carefully chosen set of authors is so powerful. Their insights become embedded in your as we've said before, the Stoics aren't something you have read. They have to be something you are reading again and again and again. As Marx Realis would say, we can't be satisfied with merely getting the gist of them. We have to read attentively, he advised. Read deeply, read repeatedly. Aim for quality, not quantity. And that's also how we designed the Daily Stoic 10 years ago. It was the idea of one page a day of the best Stoic wisdom from the Stoics, which has now sold millions of copies in token dozens of languages. And really exciting news. The ebook is $199. Right now. Anywhere you get your ebooks, the Daily Stoic is 366 pages of the best insights and practices delivered one per day from the Stoics. Five minutes in the morning, you connect with the wisest minds who ever lived. And maybe you get a little meditation from me on top of that and you can apply it to your life right now. Some people read it as an ebook, obviously. Some people have hardcovers that have made it through since it came out in 2016. And then a lot of people have upgraded to the premium edition, the leather one we made, which is really awesome. It's a leather bound edition. We collaborated with this awesome bindery in the UK called Charfleet. It's got a genuine leather cover, it's got illustrations, comes in a box, makes a great gift. It's on premium munkin cream paper, it's got vinyl in sheets, it's got a ribbon. There's a little letter from the authors, bunch of other stuff. The idea though is look, anyone can read a lot. The wise read well if you want to live better, if you want to go beyond the gist of things, I hope you go past just skimming the surface and maybe you give the Daily Stoic a look. Maybe give it to someone who might need it. Or you just return to the original stoics. I don't care. I did want to tell you that the Daily stoic ebook is $1.99 for just a few more days. And if you want a signed hardcover or a signed leather bound, I will link to that in the show notes as well. Foreign thanks to Toyota Trucks for sponsoring this episode. When I bought my ranch in 2015 out here in Bastow County, I drove my car about halfway down the dirt road that we live on, thought, this isn't going to work. Stopped, parked it, walked the rest of the way home, borrowed my wife's car, drove in Austin and bought a truck. What I bought was a Toyota Tacoma. And this truck wasn't just transportation getting me to and from my house. It unlocked a whole different style of living for us. Not just on the ranch, but in our little Texas towns. There were places I could go now that I couldn't go before, especially out here in the piney forests, through the fields and on the unpaved roads like the one that I lived in. We got to go deep into the Hill Country's wild beauty. We've driven all the way out to East Texas. We've driven it across the country. And by we, I mean not just my wife, but both my kids, who I drove home from the hospital in that truck. Toyota trucks are built for those who understand that the best adventures happen when you're willing to veer off course because you never know when you'll end up on a Toyota Adventure Detour. And of course, this is stoicism too, because every detour, every obstacle is an opportunity. But it's helpful if you can handle the difficulty inherent in that. If you've got the resilience and the right companion to make it wherever the road takes you, discover your uncharted territory. Learn [e-mail] Trucks Adventure detours Plato's view.

[Ryan Holiday]

This is the June 2 entry in the Daily Stoic. How beautifully Plato put it. Marcus Aurelius writes in Meditation748 Whenever you.

[Daily Stoic Host]

Want to talk about people, it's best.

[Ryan Holiday]

To take a bird's eye view and see everything all at once of gatherings, armies, farms, weddings and divorces, births and deaths, noisy courtrooms or silent spaces. Every foreign people, holidays, memorials, markets, all blended together and arranged in a pairing of opposites. And actually, let me give you the Hayes one today too. If I recall correctly, he renders this quite beautifully. Plato has it right. If you want to talk about people, you need to look down on earth from above. Herds and armies, farms and weddings, divorces, births, deaths, noisy courtrooms, desert places, all the foreign peoples, holidays, days of mourning, market days, all mixed together. A harmony of opposites. There's actually a beautiful dialogue by the poet Lucien, who is Seneca's Nephew, I believe, in which the narrator is given the ability to fly and see the world from above. Turning his eyes earthward, he sees how comically small even the richest people, the biggest estates, the entire empires look from above. All their battles and concerns are made petty in perspective. In ancient times, this exercise was only theoretical. The highest that anyone could get was the top of a mountain or a building a few stories tall. But as technology has progressed, humans have been able to actually take that bird's eye view and greater Edgar Mitchell, an astronaut, was one of the first people to see the Earth from outer space. And as he later recounted, in outer space you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles away and say, look at that, you son of a bitch. And then I add, many a problem can be solved with the perspective of Plato's view. Use it. I just got off a plane. I'm getting on a plane again shortly, and you look out the window and you see. Sometimes when I fly into Austin, I can actually see where I live and 40 acres suddenly, very small. 1,000 acres, very small. The Tesla factory, one of the biggest buildings I've ever seen in my life. Very small skyscrapers, very small people, minuscule. I think what Edgar Mitchell is talking about is a sort of paradox of it. Everything seems very small, but everything also seems very connected, right? And so wars and international boundaries, these all seem so insignificant, such artificial and petty distinctions. I was recently down in Big Bend national park, and you look over this vast expanse, and it humbles you in that sense. And then also you're like, here is the United States, here is Mexico. Here is the United States, here is Mexico. You're walking on the one side of the river, and then it's just. And we don't have to get into some complicated discussion about immigration, but it's just a reminder. It's like how arbitrary. Someone born over here gets this kind of life. Someone born on this side gets this kind of life. And they'll shoot you if you come across the border with this intention. But me splashing around in the water with my kids, that's totally fine. You realize that all these things we take very seriously are not that serious. And what matters, I think Marcus is saying, when you take Plato's view, is our connection to other people, our obligations as human beings, being good, being decent. Alexander the Great's empire looks very enormous and significant and powerful and important up close. But zoom out. It doesn't seem that different than anything else. And the immensity of the damage that he did in creating it suddenly comes into view as well. So Plato's view is about getting perspective. And it's a reminder that our technology helps give us that view and that we should appreciate. I know if you ever watch the Daily Stoke videos, sometimes we use drone shots. And it's been fun to learn how to fly this drone. But this drone is also expanded my perspective. It's allowed me to see things, even myself, right? From different angles. I never saw what I looked like running from 30 meters above me.

[Daily Stoic Host]

Right.

[Ryan Holiday]

I haven't seen what the angle of the road that I like to run on looks like that way. And it helps you appreciate things differently. It gives you that bird's eye view. And I think it's really important. I think time lapses can do this too. Course, just sitting there and looking at it, climbing up to a high spot, looking at the stars can give you this too. But the Stoics were trying to humble themselves. They were trying to get perspective. They were trying to remember our obligations and connections to other people. They were trying as Annie Duke says, to get to the outside of their problems, outside of the insularness of their viewpoint and their urges and their desires and their emotional reactions. And I just think it's so important. And please do avail yourself with that knowledge. It's very powerful and important, as Marcus says, as Plato does, as Lucian does. And I'll leave that with you now to chew on for the rest of the day.

[Daily Stoic Host]

Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 minutes million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything. I just wanted to say thank you.

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[Daily Stoic Host]

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