What we now call mob mentality or groupthink feels like a modern label for something Jung was already describing decades ago. When individuals become part of a group, something changes. Intellectual rigor declines. Moral restraint weakens. People say and do things they would never do alone.

Born into slavery and later freed, Epictetus had every reason to see himself as powerless. Instead, he built his philosophy on the radical idea that no one can enslave the human spirit if the mind remains disciplined. He taught that external events are beyond our control—but our perception, judgment, and response are always ours to command.