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Stocism In "Enchiridion" - Papers Online

Stocism In "Enchiridion"

In “Enchiridion,” Epictetus stresses that human beings do not and cannot control life. Terrible things can and will happen, including the death of children and spouses. But human beings do control how they respond. We always have a choice about the contents and character of our inner lives. This is what constitutes our personality or attitude, the control, or lack thereof, that we have over our emotions. We have control over our thoughts and our will, but we do not have control over external fortune. Not what we do or what happens to us, but how we judge or think about those things is the essence of good and evil. According to Epictetus, no external event is good or evil. Only the ...

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We have the power to free ourselves inside, our duty is to make our minds master over expectations, desires, and needs. We should not depend on external events for our happiness, but upon reason, inner continuity and stability. The Stoic resolves, in his life, to be calm in the midst of activity and chaos, to cultivate an attitude which is free and detached. According to the stoic principles, a happy life is a life free of desires and attachments. Such happiness is possible because external events do not affect one’s internal mind in the eyes of a Stoic. We are affected by the external only if we foolishly choose to be so affected. In side the mind, there can be calm; outside the mind there is constant movement and instability, coming to be and passing away. What brings disappointment and pain is the dependence on what comes to be and passes away.
Stoics understand that there is no emotion that cannot be usefully repressed. Stoicism is a philosophy that elevates calm ...

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Stocism In "Enchiridion". (2006, April 5). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Stocism-In-Enchiridion/43893

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/5/2006 09:07:44 AM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 947
Pages: 4

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