Summary Of Epictetus Moral Philosophy
The chief end of Epictetus’ moral philosophy seems to be an individual 's happiness. In his Handbook he offers a way to achieve a maximum level of happiness. An ethical life is being aware of things which are in one’s control and out of one’s control. There is the internal human nature (i.e., things in our control) and the external events of nature (i.e., things not in our control). “Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions,” are things within our power to influence. “Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, our public offices,” (11) these are things we are enslaved by.
Furthermore, “go with the flow” might be an apt phrase to use in many circumstances. As he says, “Do not seek to have events happen as you
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According to Epictetus, the rage will only bring us harm, but harm is not always bad. As Carl Sagan said, “For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.” Taking Epictetus’ advice, why would anyone desire to fall in love or write poetry? It might seem prudent to accept your lot in life. However, he gives no reasons as to how morality can be derived from prudential values and personal happiness. Rather, he assumes it from the beginning of the handbook and assess situations accordingly. Slavery, for many, would be prudent, but it does not follow that slavery is ethically justified.
While I agree that many external factors our out of our control, this is not entirely true for wealth and social status. For example, even though lottery numbers are out of my control, I can choose whether or not to gamble or invest in something. In college, an individual can choose to enter the hard sciences versus the soft sciences — drastically raising their income potential. This is by no means internal, as Epictetus
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