Become Different: Meditations

Title: Meditations

Date: Between 121 and 180 AD

Nationality: Roman

Creator: Marcus Aurelius

Medium: Document

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius

This is a good artifact because it shows how Aurelius took the ideas of Stoicism, connected them with his life, implemented them, and became someone different. He was made into someone who had values, who did good, and who was submissive to the Divine Will because of the context these ideas had given him. A new civilization would be able to learn from this and see that the point of the learning process is to become someone different. After being exposed to new information, making connections, and applying the information, we can become different and better, just like Aurelius was changed through what he learned. He became different in his beliefs, attitudes, values and lifestyle. This is a good artifact to show near the end because it describes the last “step” of learning—becoming—that affects who we are and what we do.