“Before Stoicism: Musings Toward a Philosophy”

Most people think they’re shepherds.
In reality, most of us are sheep—and we spend a surprising amount of time arguing over who the wolves are.
That realization was part of one of my earliest attempts at building a philosophy.
Long before I ever read Marcus Aurelius or Epictetus, I was trying to make sense of how people behave and how societies organize themselves. It wasn’t a refined system. It was just a set of observations that slowly turned into a metaphor that helped me understand the roles people seem to fall into.
Shepherds. Sheep. Dogs. And wolves.
It’s simple, but the more you think about it, the more it explains.
The Sheep
The sheep are the majority.
They’re the people who move with the current of society. They want safety, stability, and belonging more than they want to challenge the structure around them.
That doesn’t mean sheep are stupid. Plenty of thoughtful people still move with the herd. Life is complicated, and most people are busy working, raising families, and dealing with the normal pressures of everyday life.
But the reality is this: most of us are sheep more often than we’d like to admit.
Ironically, many people who think of themselves as independent shepherds are really just sheep standing in a slightly different part of the field.
The Shepherds
Shepherds are the leaders.
Sometimes they’re political leaders. Sometimes they’re cultural figures. Sometimes they’re just the loudest or most confident voice in the room.
Their role is to guide the flock and keep it moving toward something productive.
Good shepherds take that responsibility seriously. They understand that leading people carries weight and consequences.
Bad shepherds exploit that trust, guiding the flock toward outcomes that serve themselves rather than the people they claim to lead.
History is full of both.
The Dogs
Dogs are the enforcers of the system.
Police, judges, bureaucrats, media gatekeepers—anyone whose role is to maintain the structure and keep order within the flock.
In a healthy society, dogs protect the sheep from wolves and keep shepherds from abusing their power.
But when systems become corrupt, dogs sometimes stop protecting the flock and start protecting the power structure instead.
When that happens, the line between dog and wolf starts to blur.
The Wolves
Wolves are predators.
Criminals, con artists, opportunists—people who prey on the flock and exploit weakness.
But wolves don’t always look like villains.
Sometimes they hide inside institutions that are supposed to protect the flock. Sometimes they wear the clothing of shepherds. And sometimes the people labeled as wolves are simply those who challenge the system or expose corruption.
One man’s watchdog is another man’s wolf.
Who gets that label often depends on who controls the narrative.
When Things Really Go Wrong
Most societies can tolerate wolves.
They can even survive bad shepherds for a time.
The real danger comes when sheep stop thinking entirely and start behaving like lemmings.
When large numbers of people move blindly in one direction, they can sweep the dogs along with them and elevate the worst possible shepherds.
At that point the system stops functioning rationally.
It becomes momentum.
And momentum can be a dangerous thing when millions of people are involved.
The Roles Aren’t Fixed
Another thing I noticed early on is that people don’t stay in one role forever.
A sheep can become a shepherd.
A dog can become a wolf.
A wolf can decide to protect the flock instead of prey on it.
People move between these roles depending on circumstance, ambition, and character.
None of us are permanently fixed in place.
Where I Fit Into It
If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve probably occupied all four roles at different points in my life.
There were times I was closer to a wolf than anything else.
These days I’d say I’m mostly a sheep who spent some time as a wolf, turned into a dog, and occasionally finds himself trying to climb the hill where the shepherds stand.
That climb is harder than it looks.
Because once you start paying attention, you realize the hill is crowded—and not everyone up there deserves the view.
Closing Thought
This metaphor isn’t a perfect philosophy. It was just one of my early attempts at trying to understand how people behave and how societies organize themselves.
But one observation from it has stuck with me.
Most people think they’re shepherds.
Very few actually are.
And recognizing the difference might be one of the most important steps toward understanding the world we live in.

Mic G

Addendum: Reflections From the Wolf’s Perspective
When I first came up with this framework, I was a moral relativistic atheist. I believed right and wrong were largely subjective, and that people navigated life according to circumstance, preference, or convenience.
Since then, my views have changed.
I’ve come to believe in objective morality—something grounded in a spiritual authority—and that human beings have an innate pull toward what is good. When that pull is ignored or distorted, life begins to feel chaotic and hollow. We often believe we’re fully in control of our lives until the illusion breaks.
It’s a bit like driving a car that feels like an extension of your body—until you hit black ice. Suddenly the car spins and you realize how little control you actually had.
I’ve spent time in the wolf’s role myself.
Operating outside the rules, exploiting opportunities, testing boundaries—sometimes even preying on the complacency of the flock—felt justified at the time. Wolves always have reasons, and I certainly had mine.
But reflection has a way of stripping away the stories we tell ourselves.
Much of what I once rationalized as clever, necessary, or strategic was, at its core, base behavior. It prioritized short-term gain and instinctual advantage over alignment with the good that people are naturally drawn toward.
The thrill, the freedom, even the sense of power—they were temporary.
Real satisfaction—the kind that feels full and lasting—comes from engaging with morality. From protecting, guiding, and building rather than exploiting.
Acknowledging that doesn’t erase the past, but it does place it in perspective.
Wolves can change.
And when they do, they carry insight into the temptations that can corrupt both shepherds and dogs. Understanding your own wolfish tendencies is part of understanding power, society, and the moral responsibility we all carry.