Epictetus's Philosophy Essay

This essay examines Epictetus's philosophical approach to various life situations. It first analyzes his response to a hypothetical scenario—the unexpected closure of a coffee shop—highlighting his emphasis on rationality and questioning the lack of prior notice. The essay then delves into Epictetus's perspective on reacting to insults, advocating for a patient, detached response to allow for rational consideration before reacting. Finally, it contrasts the extreme and moderate interpretations of Epictetus's stance on social injustice, showing how a detached approach can be balanced with the need for engagement and collective action. The essay concludes by referencing the source material, "Summary Of The Discourses Of Epictetus." The overall argument emphasizes Epictetus's consistent focus on rationality, logic, and patience as guiding principles in navigating life's challenges.

1. Finding out that my favourite coffee shop is closed for renovations for the next two weeks, I
would have been rather discombobulated. I would have expressed my annoyance by saying,
“At least the management should have informed this closure about a week ago. Epictetus’
response would have been a rational one. It must be noted that “Epictetus believed that
humans were rational beings living in a rational universe. He refers to the fundamental
orderliness of all things, or the rational principles underlying the universe, as Zeus, God, or
the gods” ("Summary Of The Discourses Of Epictetus"). Hence, Epictetus would have also
conveyed his annoyance regarding the issue. He would definitely have asked why the
management did not inform the same to the customers prior to the event. He would have
been worried about the expectations of the customers who would have been waiting for
entering the coffee shop eagerly. Adhering to a rational principle, Epictetus would have
definitely questioned the mannerism and way of thinking of the management of the coffee
shop. For Epictetus, nature is logical and fundamentally rational, and depending on this
rationality of nature, Epictetus would have definitely questioned the logic behind closing the
shop without informing the customers on a prior basis. As for Epictetus, the rational
principle pervades every reality; he would have definitely questioned the reality of the
closure of the shop by challenging the conduct of the authorities that closed the shop
without giving any prior notice to the customers. Hence, Epictetus’ response would have
been a rational one based on his believes that nature is both logical and rational.
2. Epictetus believed in rationality, logic and patience, and that is the reason why in the event
of being insulted by anyone, Epictetus would have suggested a patient reaction to the event.
Epictetus would have suggested a rational attitude to the one who has been insulted. By a
rational attitude it means that the person who has been insulted should not react
immediately to the insult. Rather, he should pull back from the situation to give himself
more time to take a wider view on the entire issue. He should have suggested composure to
the one who had been insulted by someone else. Epictetus would have suggested the most
realistic attitude that could have been taken appropriately to mitigate the problem triggered
by the event of insult. He would have suggested the person being insulted to consider the
bigger picture first (giving himself some time to ponder) and then react justifiably later on
against the insult in a sane manner.
3. The advantages of such detachment are manifold. Primarily, if a philosopher can maintain
such detachment then he would be at the best position to judge things neutrally and
rationally without being impacted or influenced by emotions. According to extreme
Epictetus we should react to social injustice in a detached manner. As everything like death,
grievous injury, etc are all out of our control we should not try to judge them by any means.
As social injustice is a thing out of our own control, we should remain detached as long as
rationally possible. But according to moderate Epictetus, we should oppose social injustice
primarily due to the fact that human beings have the goal of getting connected to others. If
this broad arena is considered then it becomes imperative to protest social injustice to save
the common mass from destitution. But moderate Epictetus would have also suggested not
to react quickly against social injustice; rather, he would have suggested to adjust and adapt
to several such situations.
Works Cited
"Summary Of The Discourses Of Epictetus." Reason and Meaning. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.