An Introduction to Epictetus’s Stoicism

Some Facts about Stoicism Began Roughly 300 BC Lasted about 500 years Heavily influenced Spinoza Descartes was a major influence on Spinoza Stoic philosophers include: Zeno (founder) Seneca Marcus Aurelius Epictetus*

Epictetus 55 – 150 AD Wrote “The Encheiridion” Also known as “The Handbook”

Epictetus’ Beliefs To be completely happy, one must lack dissatisfaction with outside world, while also being intelligent and conscious. Impossible to attain all desires, so don’t even try. Instead of creating impossible desires that are not reasonable based on the external world, conform so that your desires are in line with the external world.

How To Put Yourself Into This State of Mind Realize that all external events are completely determined by prior states of the universe (form of Determinism – to be discussed later). Anyone who knows everything that happened prior to a moment would be able to accurately predict what will happen in the immediate future.

Stoicism as Determinism Universe is perfect in design Orderliness that links all parts Pattern is such that all local events could not have been otherwise

Aligning Your Desires Since all items in the universe happen only as they can (and could not have happened otherwise), dissatisfaction occurs when one’s desires do not align with this orderliness Example: Life is a mathematic equation. Just as 2+1=3, so too must each event produce a predictable and finite answer.

Level of Understanding Needed to Satisfy Desires Disagreement between Stoics Some believed a perfect knowledge of events is necessary Some believed a simple acceptance of this fact could produce satisfaction Perhaps a compromise: ordinary people only need to accept the fact, but other entities (i.e. the state) would need greater knowledge to attain greater satisfaction.

Objections to Stoic Determinism If true, then what moral responsibility do we have since the world could not be otherwise. Do you then have to regard as all things as indifferent since you cannot be dissatisfied with any state of nature? Aren’t the positive and negative values to life? Not just external world is indifferent, but also states of consciousness such as pleasure and pain.

Stoic Ethic “Nothing is good except moral virtue” Plausible since Stoics believed virtue was part of the perfect, natural world.

Quotes from Epictetus’s Handbook Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things.  Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.

Focus Questions Discuss the validity of the objections to Stoicism. Provide arguments and counter arguments In what ways do we see Stoic ideas in Cartesian philosophy? How does Stoicism complicate the idea of free will? Does our physical world contain spontaneous acts which are unpredictable?