Epictetus

Q: Who was Epictetus?

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher best known for the foundational works Enchridion and Discourses.

Q: What is Epictetus famous for?

Epictetus is famous for fully developing the Stoic philosophies of earlier thinkers such as Heraclitus and Zeno of Citium. He fully articulated the Stoic vision and established Stoicism in Rome through is focus on the Logos, a rational force that guides the operation of the universe.

Q: What is Epictetus' most famous claim?

Epictetus is known for many significant passages but his best-known claim is that it is not circumstance that upsets people but how they interpret circumstance.

Q: Did Epictetus believe in freewill?

Epictetus believed in a limited form of free will. One could choose how one interprets circumstance and responds to it but one could not, by one's free will, alter any given circumstance. One could only control one's own reaction to life's challenges, not the challenges themselves.

Joshua J. Mark

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Definition

Epictetus (l.c. 50 - c. 130 CE) was a Stoic philosopher best known for his works The Enchiridion (the handbook) and his Discourses, both foundational works in Stoic philosophy and both thought to have been written down from his teachings by his student Arrian.

More about: Epictetus

Timeline

50 CE
Epictetus is born a slave in Hierapolis, Asia Minor.
c. 68 CE
Granted his freedom, Epictetus begins to teach in Rome.
89 CE
Banished from Rome by Domitian with the other philosophers, Epictetus travels to Nicopolis and sets up a school there.
c. 108 CE
The historian Arrian studies with Epictetus, records his teachings.
c. 130 CE
Epictetus dies at Nicopolis.