Epictetus Philosophy Analysis

22. The Stoics believed that the entire universe is an ordered reality, it forms part of a whole cosmos in which all contradictions are resolved for the ultimate good. The universe then follows a determined, logical path that leads to a final perfection. All the things that happen in life, good and evil, is rigidly determined in accordance to a rational purpose. This course of the universe is unchangeable. Therefore, no individual could escape or change his destiny, no one was master of his fate.

With regards to responding to events, both good and bad, Epictetus’ ideal behaviour goes as follows. Everything in your life that is positive, must always be accompanied by the acknowledgement of its nature. There is no doubt that negative situations will occur. A loved one might leave you, your car might get stolen, you could go to prison, however, that is okay. He writes “men are not disturbed by the things which happen, but by opinions about the things (Sources of Western Society, v.1, 65). This depicts the idea that life is filled with misfortune, the important thing to remember is that you’re going to get through it. Accordingly, an individual’s task when faced with adversity is to remain undisturbed. Additionally, as the quote illustrates,

We can grieve without the thought that we should be able to hold on to our loved ones forever. We can be frustrated by our children without the thought that we should be able to control and define who they are. It is our attachment that leads to unattainable desires which eventually result in our unhappiness. It is also interesting to note Epictetus’ stance on theology, which raises the question of why bad things happen to good people.

In “The Handbook”, Epictetus provides a way of life a stoic should follow to be a good member of the society, which is a life detached from things one cannot change and focused instead on things that can be improved. For instance, he asked people to care none about the way others would judge them as he quoted “If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you, don't make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: "He does not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these."” Through this quote, Epictetus wanted all stoics to know all their faults better than anyone else can say about them. Hence, the person would not be disturbed by the way the society view him or her as well as would be able to control and fix

In ancient Rome, there was this philosopher who was born a slave. His name was Epictetus. According to Traylor in his book The Epictetus Club, Epictetus’ master crippled him when he was young, and as a result, Epictetus endured poor health for the rest of his life. Instead of growing resentful of his circumstances, he chose to allow his difficulties to bring good. He made “himself stronger, kinder, and wiser” in order to live a healthier mental life (Traylor, 2004. P 11).

Stoicism, however, takes an extreme approach of both

As Epictetus opens his handbook with the line, “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us,” a precedent is set for the entire following of the nature in his teachings (Hackett, 5). We are not merely an individual seeking something better in life, but an individual who can control his/her own path as long as we follow the context of staying true to ourselves and not wandering outside of our own capabilities. “Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our doing,” is a prime example of what we cannot control, death being one of these (Hackett, 5). Our control is limited to what we can grasp and be in power of, and whatever is out of that reach should not be looked

Using the teachings and writings of philosophers, but also adding in contemporary thinkers including Tookie Williams, Langston Hughes, and Harvey Milk is a highly effective instructional technique. Reading the teachings of Epictetus and the Stoic philosophers is heady material for high school students. However, using it as a jumping off point to debate and discuss the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. keeps student interest high and keeps the material relatable to their own lives. Also, comparing “Stoic philosopher Epictetus’s claim that all situations and circumstances are subject to interpretation

“But pleasure, which every sparrow is acquainted with, we simply cannot grasp.”(Cicero,p.51) The debate on the true meaning of happiness has been going on for centuries. Different conceptions of happiness have developed and also challenged in the philosophical world starting mostly with Socrates and Plato. They were challenged and new philosophical schools were developed including Epicureans. As the Epicurean school progressed, so did their own conception of happiness. With the new developments also came criticism and backlash. The Epicureans had a different take on the meaning of happiness and was at the time considered to be incoherent. Cicero was the major critic and seemingly was the most critical of the epicureans. His points proposed questions on where virtue plays a role as well as why they were unable to provide support their theories.

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who lived during the height of the Roman Empire, 50 to 135 CE roughly. He was born a slave in modern Turkey. He was given his name from the Greek word επικτητος, meaning ‘acquired’ or ‘slave’. As a slave he was permitted to attend philosophy lectures, which were held by Stoics at the time. During his time as a slave, Epictetus’ leg was injured, either from torture or an accident, and, due to his familiarity with Stoicism, he was able to endure it. He got his freedom when Nero was appointed emperor; however, during the rule of Domitian, Epictetus was exiled and moved to Greece. He started a philosophy school where he continued to teach about Stoicism and eventually died. His student, Arrian, wrote and published his works: The Discourses and Epictetus’ shorter book, the Enchiridion, or The Manual.

Epictetus presents many themes through his aphorisms from free will, to the divine plan and many more. The one that will be focused on today are Value Judgements. This theme is present in the aphorism I have selected, number 9. The aphorism states “Illness interferes with the body, not with one’s faculty of choice, unless that faculty of choice wishes it to. Lameness interferes with the limb, not with one’s faculty of choice. Say this at each thing that happens to you, since you will find that it interferes with something else, not with you” (Epictetus, The Handbook, 14).

The Leading Doctrines of Epicurean philosophy state that ‘it is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly and justly, and conversely it is impossible to live sensibly, nobly and justly without living pleasantly’ (Epicurus, 1998b, p.53). Therefore, the good Epicurean believes in order to live virtuously, one must adhere to a pleasurable life. For Epicureans it is impossible to live virtuously and unpleasantly or vice-versa. In addition, Epicurus describes pleasure as our ‘primary native good’ (Epicurus 1998a, p. 51), implying that all human actions are driven by pleasures and by the avoidance of pains. Another imperative concept to Epicurean philosophy is Epicurus’ idea of the three fundamental aspects in attaining pleasure, those of friendship, freedom and an analysed life

The ethics behind Epicureanism are very simple. Epicurus demonstrates that experience shows happiness is not best attained by directly seeking it. The selfish are not more happy but less so than the unselfish. This statement is very powerful for the simple person. Epicurus proves that if a person seeks to be happy he/she usually won't be able to find true happiness.

Seneca asks, “how many have plundered your life when you were unaware of your losses; how much you have lost through groundless sorrow, foolish joy, greedy, desire, the seductions of society; how little of your life was left to you”(Seneca, p. 5). Here, Seneca evokes the notion that many waste their life away concerning themselves with things that are not beneficial to gaining a virtuous life. Seneca believes that “sorrow”, “foolish joy”, “desire”, and “seduction” are futile ways to spend life since they are not productive to pursuing a life of virtue. These emotions and simple desires deviate one from achieving tranquility of mind and cause one’s life to slip by with no real meaning. Seneca and other Stoics believe a meaningful life is a tranquil one, so things that detract from tranquility should be avoided. Virgil establishes that Aeneas again has the rationality to do what is virtuous rather than be swallowed up with the fruitless time-wasters Seneca describes. For example, when many of Aeneas shipmates have died due to the storm Aeolus and Juno make, Aeneas makes a speech to his people, “My comrades, hardly strangers to pain before now, we all have weathered worse. Some god will grant us an end to this as well...Dismiss your grief and fear… our course holds firm for Latium...Save your strength for better times to come”(Virgil, 1.232-244). This

To Epicurus happiness was the same as pleasure. And pleasure was freedom from bodily pain and mental anguish. He lived a simple life, owning only two cloaks and only eating bread and olives. With the occasional slice of cheese for a treat. He believed desire was a form of pain and therefore should be eliminated, and thus one should be satisfied with the bare minimum of what is needed to be happy. Therefore, while it was not a life of many desires, it was filled with the only pleasures you would need to be happy. There was a certain joy he found, in pure existence. Today’s society could learn a thing or two from this philosophy, most of which being living simply. It was better to take pleasure in simple things, rather than to chase pleasure.