Epictetus happens to be one of my favorite philosophers of all time, second to the great Voltaire. His name is often mentioned among the big three of Stoicism, the two others being Marcus Aurelius and Seneca.
In the study of philosophy, one often encounters the “armchair philosopher”. This often takes the form of individuals who have the time and money to pontificate about the state of the world and its affairs while not needing to participate in the day-to-day events that characterize the subject of one’s philosophy. Religion is a great example of this in the modern age. It is easy to rationalize, justify and explain away the necessity of suffering and evil in the world when you don’t have to face it yourself. It is almost a funny realization that those who study and preach various theodicies have the time and privilege to engage in them in the first place. While most people who are actually living through the circumstances that these preachers are trying to rationalize don’t even have the time to sit and engage in a rational analysis of their own circumstances or life events. I find this hilarious and telling. This becomes evident when you listen to any one of these theodicies. When was the last time you heard a theodicy presented by a slum dweller, a slave or a rape victim. The vast majority of the suffering will be quick to say that in-spite all the holy rationalization and defense of god, they still wish life would have been different and possibly a little less filled with pain.
All this to say that Epictetus however, was absolutely not one of those armchair philosophers. He was quite the opposite. He was someone who worked to ensure that he lived by the principles and ideas that he gleaned from his own life, a life that we today might consider quite unfair and un-comfortable. Epictetus was born in what is modern day Turkey. His original name was never recorded and the name by which we know him today, Epictetus, simply means “acquired”. He came to Rome a slave and served Epaphroditus, a wealthy secretary to Nero. During his tenure under Epaphroditus, it is said that he had his leg broken by his master. Despite all this, Epaphroditus gave Epictetus his freedom a short while after the suicide of the emperor Nero.
Appreciating his keen intellect, his master had permitted him to attend the school of Musonius Rufus where he quickly picked up the teachings of Stoicism. Gradually he became an influential philosopher in Rome, but he was later sent into exile with all the other philosophers in Rome in AD 89. He left for Nicopolis where he set up his own school and taught there till his death in AD 130. Throughout his philosophy he emphasized living well over anything else. Although he himself never wrote any texts of his own, his ideas and teachings are preserved in the notes taken down by one of his students named Arrian.
To talk about his influence on Stoic thought would be way too much for a blog post but his central theme was on the importance of individual responsibility and initiative in all circumstances. That even though circumstances may be out of your control, you still have the power to choose your reaction. A pithy quote by Epictetus that sums up this idea pretty well goes like this:
“You may fetter my leg, but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will.” – Epictetus
Contemporary authors like Ryan Holiday and Massimo Pigliucci have a lot of good material that cover Stoicism. And if reading is not your thing, check out Philosophize This on Spotify.
And what better way to end this post than with another quote of Epictetus on acquiring knowledge.
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. “ – Epictetus
