Stoicism: Epictetus & Seneca

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

The concern topic is an essay that concentrates on the fact of living a good life. It is from the reading of Epictetus, the strategy of good living could be introduced to the human being in this world. The teachings of Epictetus has based on the living a happy life such that the human beings are satisfied with their birth and their livelihood on the earth. His teachings mainly dealt with the happiness that is found from doing work and satisfying the life of the people from the earning.

Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher who lived from 50-130 AD, was instrumental in allowing the Stoic philosophy to grow and flourish. As ideas have come and gone throughout the years, this is a philosophy, a way of thinking, or even a lifestyle that has maintained its validity ever since its inception into the human mind, and continues to be a formative way of thinking to this day. Without knowing it, I have adopted several of the views that are explicitly written in Epictetus’ The Handbook. As I grew tired and annoyed with the events happening around me, it dawned on me that I can only control how I live my life, and that has been a central philosophy in my life for several years. In this paper, I will use different excerpts from The Handbook to support my claim that this philosophical way of thinking is a superior path to eudaimonia, and I will look at counter-arguments and discuss why they are less valid than the Stoic outlook on life.

In order for one to be happy, one must be free. So this begs the question, how do you become free? Epictetus lends us his distinction between things/objects that depend on us and those that do not. He states that our body, fame, power, etc. are things that do not depend on us. And, our judgments, our desires and dislikes are all things that do depend on us. In order to be free, Epictetus says we need to focus on the things that do depend on us, and for us to not let things that don’t depend on us be of any importance. Surely, they are not dependent upon our own will, rather the opportunity of external circumstances. For instance, fame in which one may desire in not completely dependent on the amount of talent the individual has, but it is also the people that will come and take time to discover one’s talent. In this particular scenario, we lack having total power. This is because we aren’t the sole cause in determining how successful are actions are. Because of this, we are more at risk to having speed bumps or disappointments along the way that will ultimately cause us to be

On the other hand, in the Epictetus’ Enchiridion, they barely talk about love. Rather than talk about love, in Enchiridion, Epictetus mentions the idea of the dignity of life in a rational way, but not an emotional way like Christianity. Being rational seems to become the core of Stoicism. “So far, there is nothing to value myself upon. And when I find an interpreter, what remains is to make use of his instructions. This alone is the valuable thing” (Epictetus par. 49). “Never say of anything, ‘I have l lost it’; but, ‘I have returned it’"(Epictetus par.11). Even though death is the saddest thing in the life, people can overcome it by this teaching. Such matters as birth, old age, illness, and death are the inevitable routes that every human being has to across. The universal laws show that the life is an eternal thing. People should not be sad when their family members die. Epictetus seems to avoid the grieve by rationality. After learning how to accept, people will not feel fear or pain anymore. This rational optimist’s thinking leads countless followers to attain happiness.

The school met informally in the heart of the city at the Painted Stoa (Painted Porch), which was how “Stoics” gained their name. With the death of Alexander, “the greatness of life and thought of the Greek city-state ended” (Saunders). Athens had lost its prominence as the urban and cultural center of the world, losing its status to cities like Rome and Alexandria. The public setting of the Stoics' attracted a large audience, and Stoicism was widely embraced by the disenfranchised Athenians living in a time of instability and inconstancy. Rather than as simply a body of knowledge, Stoics saw philosophy as a way of life involving constant practice and training. It is presented as an art with which to transform one's way of life. The goal of Stoicism is to avoid suffering by means of objectivity and self-discipline. The true Stoic is happy under any circumstance, whether diseased, disgraced, or dying. It is not enough, however, to say that one can be happy regardless of circumstances. A true Stoic must actually be happy regardless of circumstances, which proves difficult for most people. The ability to recite philosophy is not enough for the Stoic; one must be able to put his philosophy into

Lucretius was a Roman poet who believed that the Epicurean systems provided the most important and valuable way of thinking. He pledged all of his poetic and persuasive writing skills towards presenting Epicurus’ teachings in a concise expose. A key Epicurean doctrine which he explores is the concept of the Nature of Happiness. Philosophy, in this mindset, is a refuge from the trials and tribulations of the

After the death of Aristotle, philosophy that targeted greater complex depths was outrun by philosophy that focused on mere everyday lives. With the rise and fall of Skepticism, Cynicism, and Epicureanism there was an influence that survived years impacting life and that was Stoicism. Zeno of Citium who believed that the world had an ultimate plan and everything--including nature, animals, and humans, were there for a reason (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014, p. 66). The reason Stoicism was easily used is because it was well-suited with the way Romans highlighted their law and order giving the extensive coverage displayed by many philosophers, including Marcus Aurelius.

Although death is inevitable, people still feel fear and angst from being aware of this unavoidable fate. This fear may stem from the dread of no longer being able to engage in activities, or simply from the knowledge that one will someday cease to exist. Whatever the case may be, there are people who tend to avoid death at all costs and strive for a longer life. However, from the views of Stoicism, it is pointless and unnecessary to be troubled by a situation that cannot be controlled. In Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, Seneca suggests that since death is a fixed predisposition, there is no need to bother and worry about a fate that we have no power to alter. There is no good that comes from fearing destiny, and the harder we try to fight our

1. Marcus Brutus was a stoic. Brutus stoic philosophy influences his decision to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar led him to be able to look at the decision to kill Caesar from a very analytical and political view he was able to leave his emotions as much out of the decision as possible. Brutus stoic philosophy influences his instructions to the conspirators when the conspirators were debating trying to get additional esteemed members in on the plot brutus uses his logical stoic way of thinking to argue that their case Is strong enough to go forward without having to use and the backing of cicero’s good public opinion and wisdom. Brutus stoic philosophy influences his rationale in sparing antonyms life brutus doesn’t want it to

Epicurus was a man of modesty. He believed that happiness was the main goal for an individual to achieve, but he believed that living luxuriously was not the way to attain happiness. He thought that material objects and shopping was a false idea of happiness. Epicurus thought friendship, freedom and an analyzed life was of the utmost importance to being happy. His ideas state that even if you are dirt poor-you still can be happy, but you can have all the money in the world-and still be unhappy. These are pretty common ideas in today’s society as well. Everyone knows the cliché saying, “money can’t buy happiness”, or “you can’t take it with you when you die”, which showcase how the idea of being rich won’t solve the human condition. Of course I believe that Epicurus’s ideas could help people in today’s society, but I also think that today’s society is pretty much set up for commercialism and consumerism.

Given his times, the age of the Roman Empire, Seneca lived a prosperous life for having the Emperor Nero’s ear, yet it was scandalized for a myriad of reasons, as we’ll see, only heightening the gravitas of many of his Stoic philosophical findings.

Stoics propose that everything in nature is rationally ordered under the jurisdiction of the divine logos (Zeus/reason). The human soul is also believed to be a part of the divine mind. Thus, to live in accordance with reason is to live with the flow of nature (Zeus) that is equivalent to living in accordance with virtue (DL, 7.86). They recognized virtue as good, vice bad and anything else as neutral (indifferent). The neutrals can either be used for bad or good though some are preferable (for instance life and health) than others (for instance death and disease). Of these, virtues are under one’s own control but the neutrals are not. They also state that virtue is necessary and sufficient to lead a happy life. Thus this essay will argue that

Epicurus teaches us that life should be enjoyed for its own sake. Pleasure, friendship, and courage make up a life well lived. I would argue that it is these three main principles that support a modern interpretation of Epicurus’ teaching as a personal moral or philosophic code. Pleasure, Epicurus teaches, is primarily the absence of pain. Certainly one would be unable to impose a radical new moral code without the imposition of force and this was not Epicurus’ goal. Preferably, one would “withdraw from the multitude” and live a quiet life. The inherent corruption of politics was to be avoided.

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who wrote, The Enchiridion, a manual which instructed people on how to live their life ethically and honorably on a social level. His belief was that regardless of personal conditions, people could live with pride and discipline. Epictetus tells us differentiating between what is in our own power to control and what is not is the key to a noble life (281).