240728 What I learned in my studies this morning 4

Today's Meditation(s):

Discourses, 4.8.8-9 (Waterfield)

People don't have a frame of reference for philosophy — they don't know what it is to do philosophy well or to be a philosopher — so they judge by appearance only.

With singers and carpenters, they've been aware of the skills necessary to succeed in those professions for a long time. They can compare the current example in front of them to a host of previous versions and see which is better.

With philosophy, they've maybe never even met one, much less been taught how to appraise their success. Is it any surprise that they fail so badly at identifying good and bad?

But what do I care? This is not up to me.