Capitulo 1

The narrator states that there is a lot of interesting knowledge, but without which one can live. Other things, on the other hand, you have to know yes or yes, because in them our lives go away (like if you jump off a balcony you will most likely die).

We must know that certain things are good for us and others are not. We usually call "good" those that suit us and "bad" those that do not. And it is important to distinguish them. But sometimes it's not that simple. There are things that are good in one way but bad in another, or that depend on the occasion, such as lying.

It is not easy to know how to live because there are opposing criteria regarding what to do. This is because, in part, the life that each one lives depends on what he chooses, on what he wants. If life were completely determined, that is, if, like bees, we were sure of what we should do in life, there would be no discussion.

The narrator uses the example of the soldier termites, and then relates it to the story of Hector in Homer's Iliad, to talk about bravery and the differences between humans and other species: soldier-termites fight and die because they have to, while Hector does it because he wants to. Termites are programmed for that; Hector could choose not to face another warrior clearly stronger than him, but he chooses to do so because he believes it is the right thing to do to defend his own city from enemy attack. Unlike termites, Hector is free, and so we admire his courage.

Animals are programmed, then, to do what they have to do. Humans are also programmed by nature to a certain extent, and we are also conditioned by a culture, a language, a social environment with customs and traditions. Hector was quite programmed to act heroically. However, it might not have. No matter how much biological or cultural programming we have, men can always opt, in the end, for something that is not in the program. That freedom differentiates us from other animals.

The narrator clarifies two things about "freedom". The first: we are not free to choose what happens to us, but free to respond to what happens to us in this or that way (29). The second: being free to try something has nothing to do with achieving that something. Freedom is not omnipotence; There are things that do not depend on our will.

There are people who are much more aware of what limits their freedom than of their freedom itself. These people seem to complain, but in reality they are very satisfied to know that they are not free. Because if you are not free, you are not guilty of what happens to you. However, the narrator assures us, we all, deep down, know that we are free; that, unlike other beings, people can invent and partly choose our way of life. Therefore, it is good to have knowledge to know how to choose what is good or bad for us. That knowing how to live, or art of living, is called ethics.