You want to advise a friend who is prone to get into trouble on how to improve her life. Which philosopher (Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, or Kant) would you recommend she read, and why? Epictetus was a Stoic and a representative of the Stoicism ‘late’ period. Stoicism was a popular philosophy for more than 500 years, from when it was founded by Zeno of Cytium, until the death of the Roman senators and the emperor Marcus Aurelius. The principle of Stoicism is that there are “some things in this world that are up to us and some are not up to us”. Our opinions, impulses, aversions are up to us. Our bodies, our possessions, reputations are not up to us. Epictetus was an influential and popular Stoic philosopher. Epictetus explores into such things …show more content…
I am taking 5 classes in this semester. Also, my grandmother has been severely sick for 5 months in the hospital. I dislike seeing someone I love feel in so much pain. Generally, I can handle my pressure, stress and catch up with the rest of the students in the class well, but it has become increasingly tough this semester. I attempt to focus on my study only in order to get a good grade, not even hanging out with friends; consequently, I don’t feel peace with my life. For a solution, I try to use the Epictetus’ knowledge and guidance to assist changing my attitude, creating a more positive outlook on life and getting a feeling of happiness. In The Handbook, Epictetus states, “Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well”(Epictetus 12, #8). In other words, we should know the nature of things and don’t desire the world to be different from the way it naturally is. For example, we can’t wish that a person lived forever. Therefore, I will try to remember the teachings of Epictetus to control my desire about my grandmother as I cannot control