Stoicism In Epictetus Philosophy

Elise Beauchemin Mr. Mosher English 2 2/23/18 Aeneas and the Quintessence of Stoicism The Aeneid, an epic written by Virgil, thousands of years old and yet still read today by many. It tells the story of the Trojan hero, Aeneas, and his efforts to establish order and defend his homeland. Throughout the 9,896 lines of the poem, he lives according to the Ancient Roman ideals of the Stoic. He is the paragon of a Trojan hero who places duty above pleasure, controls his passions and appetites through the power of reason, does not let the storms and stress of life disturb his self-possession and composure, and practices the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

Resentment can easily lead to accusation, and can cause one’s children to make false

Epictetus, Stoic Philosopher, became well known because of his great impacts on Roman understanding. “Stoicism is the belief that the individual is wholly responsible for his or her interpretations of circumstance and that all of life is natural and normal in spite of one's impressions” (Mark). With his teaching methods and loyal followers, his knowledge continued through years and years after his death. Even to today, Epictetus has made a mark on the people's self-understanding. Like many others, Epictetus was born in a lower class family.

Herodotus begins by describing the reasons for Darius invading Scythians. The Scythians, a century ago, invaded Media and defeated those who stood against them, thus starting the conflict with Persians. For the next twenty-eight years, they lorded the Upper Asia before returning home, only to discover a small army opposing their entrance (Herodotus, P.129) While the Scythians men were abroad, the women had intermarried with their slaves. Instead of fighting with the slaves, the military walked boldly into their territory because they thought that if they hold spears against their slaves, then the slaves might imagine themselves their equals.

If a horse should be prideful and say, "I am handsome," it would be supportable. But when [he is] prideful, and say, "I have a handsome horse," know that [he is] proud of what is, in fact, only the good of the horse.” (#6). The Stoic knows that being humble is an important part of being a good member of society. It is a blend of these two aspects of being a Stoic, being humble in decision making and keeping peace, this is what makes the Stoics who follow “Then Handbook”, by Epictetus, truly good members of a

He also mentions how we attempt to numb sensation, and ignore our problems, when it's in sober reasoning where we find the answers we're in search of. It was rather difficult for me to determine Epicurus's contributions to Western Civilization besides his Principle Doctrines. Epicurus's ideas were all significant, but his perspectives of government were

Which is live your life and accept, now I may not agree with what’s happening like if I break my leg its broke already how did that even it happen Epictetus mind I would have to accept it and move on. How it happens and why it happens it’s out of my control I accept it calmly and dispassionately. Even a Great man that was influence by his studies served in the same branch as me(Admiral James Bond Stockdale). Epictetus save his life in a way the Stoic philosopher save his life when he was shot down in Vietnam war and became a prisoner of war.

Epictetus did not have any rivals. He was well liked and was influenced by many philosophers. Stoicism’s closest rival was Epicureanism. Epicureanism was founded by Epicurus and taught people how to not fear death and the supernatural, as well as finding happiness at any given time. Its main belief is that pleasure is the end of life.

What he is saying is that it is a waste of time to value capitalistic ideologies, for example, wealth and fame. He implies that we are so wrapped up in our unnecessary desires that it just clouds our minds with things that really aren't important. By giving into temptations one has lost the ability to have self control. Epicurus tells us that when it comes down to it we will always pick things that bring us pleasure. He says what we don't think about is that a lot of our decisions we have made in hopes of the pleasure we were looking for only caused us pain in the end.

As we all know Aristotle is the founder of western science and has his own theory about moral luck. Epictetus, on the other hand, has his own theory about the topic as well. Moral luck is considered to be when a person takes full praise or blame for an outcome of a situation, even when the person did not have full control over the action or the consequence in the first place. While having an open mind to both sides of the debate, let's compare Aristotle and Epictetus’ viewpoints on the issue. Although they share some similarities in their findings, the difference between Aristotle and Epictetus is clear.

Lucretius was a Roman poet, famous for Epicurean philosophy. He focused on themes that involved the way in which humans exist in the natural world. Through his ideas of superstition, atoms and mortality, Lucretius’ philosophy introduced a controversial yet systematic natural perspective into a society that was predominantly still reliant on mythical explanations. By emphasizing the importance of personal reasoning, Lucretius influenced many of his successors. At the time of publication, Roman society relied heavily on the idea of various Gods and Goddesses in order to compensate for their lack of understanding of the physical world.

Epictetus’s way of philosophy is one that is purely Stoic, imploring that the solution to human finitude is one where humans can live life without showing feeling or complaining about pain and hardships towards unsavory situations. Each of his rules in his handbook offers advice in which the subject simply “deals” with disappointment, or rather, doesn’t expect something out of the scopes of reason and logic, so that, figuratively, when occurrences don’t go their way, they aren’t disappointed. This is because to Epictetus, all external events in life are pre-determined by fate, so it’s already out of our hands from the beginning. With a calm dispassion, or indifference, we approach our fate and accept it. This is shown in his rules in The Handbook,

Apart from Marcus Aurelius's prestigious political position, he was a well-known practitioner of stoicism. In fact his writing commonly old as "Meditations" is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of all of philosophy. The overarching theme that Marcus Aurelius attempts to convey, insta deal with your problems in an ideal and effective manner. He felt if you just miserably observe your problem, you wouldn't solve it as well as if you had just gotten it done

In the Story of the great Julius Caesar by Shakespeare there are two philosophies which include Stoicism and Epicureanism. Two characters that clearly stand by their beliefs are Brutus and Cassius. However before being explained, what is Stoicism and Epicureanism anyways? First off, what is Stoicism? Stoicism is a school that was founded in medieval times, it is a way of life for Brutus.

Michael Abou Chedid Personal Reflection Essay STOIC QUOTES Stoicism is an ancient philosophy founded in Athens, by Zeno of Citium, in the early 3rd century B.C. Although Stoic philosophers considered various subjects, principal teachings included how to lead a fulfilling and happy life and how to become better human beings. Up until today, the principles of Stoicism can be considered amongst the most applicable and realistic way of life for entrepreneurs, writers, and artists alike, to help them withstand tough times, and actually benefit from them. The Stoic philosophers have left behind an abundance of quotes that provide readers with a shift in perspective, and help individuals reflect on their own joy and serenity.