The Life Worth Living According to
Stoic Philosopher Epictetus

Kayla Cook
Lead 723
Fresno Pacific University
Instructor: Peter Wasemiller
July 20, 2013

The Life Worth Living

The Lessons of Epictetus

Though a literal slave during his lifetime in Turkey (A.D. 55-A.D. 135), Epictetus provides a definition of freedom and happiness that is relative through the ages. Considered a “Liberator the Soul”, his prescription for liberty and happiness start with extracting ourselves from all external forces that enslave us. Epictetus believes that “inner subjugation to any other man or woman is a state of being completely without honor” (Morris, 2004 p.78). Epictetus also believes that once our stance in life is set, everything else will follow. Mental practices, productive listening skills, and practical application can foster and emphasize our stance in life. He states that Epictetus’s philosophy “has the capacity to redirect our thinking to great things in new and fulfilling ways (Morris, 2004 p.68). Our minds control our actions; therefore we must think and live differently.
Epictetus proclaimed that one basic concept was truly at the core of autonomy and happiness. The concept was recognizing and truly accepting that some things are within our control and some are not. Slave or free man, captivity is imminent if we do not choose well and put what is learned into practice. If philosophy is defined as the love of wisdom, Epictetus believed that it was necessary to live out this love through deep understanding and commitment. He emphasizes inner achievement as the pinnacle of his philosophy. Inner peace and resilience happen when our negative thoughts are refocused and the idea of control is surrendered. Epictetus believed the combination of inner tranquility and outer effectiveness work in tandem. The philosopher encourages us to set aside emotion and lead with reason. Reasoning allows us perspective and contextualization. Very few things are within our control and focusing our intentions on the inner matters of our will is good; God will handle the remaining parts. Peace is paramount. Epictetus has religious undertones to his teachings and believed that all humans were sons of God and are like-minded spirits in nature with divinity. All external things belong to God and should be given up to him daily.
The main lesson imparted by Epictetus is the notion of pursuing personal growth in virtue and attaining happiness in this life. External circumstances have no intrinsic value. Focusing on externals bring stress and negative experiences to our lives. Life should be responded to in a proactive way. We choose. We have been given free will and the ability to choose our response to life.
The biggest mistake we make is in our thought processes and looking for happiness in all the wrong places. “It is not the external forces in our lives, but our own beliefs about those forces that pressure us and bring us all the negative experience that has become so characteristic of modern life” (Morris, 2004 p. 76). Personal choice can then counter those experiences by simply choosing to think differently. As we learned in our Peace and Conflict class, “Then you have a choice: you can recognize the demands that matter or you can cancel the ones that don’t” (Augsburger, 2009). Epictetus strongly believed that we have the capacity to make positive changes and to let go of beliefs based on untruths. We need to let reason lead us then follow with appropriate choices.

Leaders Adapting to Epictetus’s Beliefs
External forces can pressure leaders. Detouring to accommodate these forces can cause a halt in the quest for purpose in the journey, “When you follow your internal compass, your leadership will be authentic” (George, 2007). Leaders can benefit from the teachings of Epictetus by grasping the concept of influence and authenticity. Epictetus maintains that our focus should be on things we can control. As a leader, our sphere of real personal competence and issues of character are of great importance. “Our interpretations of situations, and our responses to them, can end up being much more important than the situations themselves” (Morris, 2004 p.91). A leader who functions as a rational conduit between obstacles, responses, and reasoning would benefit in the personnel arena.
The stoic philosopher believes there are three things that lie within our power; things we believe, what we desire, and what we move toward. According to Morris (2004), “The will- the fundamental power of choice- is characterized by Epictetus as the seat and source of all value in human life (p.85). Great leaders empower people to choose for themselves. Epictetus also believed that we are all in a state of “becoming”, so an influential leader could encourage and mold those around him.
Aligning ourselves with our purpose and choosing wisely is considered personal success. A good leader is defined as someone who brings people together through a shared purpose. “Gaining alignment around purpose is the greatest challenge leaders face”(George, 2007 p. 164). Leaders who can impart the power of choice, goal alignment, and a virtuous character would be of great benefit to their company. Epictetus encourages us to be doers of good, take the initiative to choose well, and be concerned with character above image. Servant leaders adopt this philosophy as they seek to serve others before themselves.
Leaders could also profit greatly by remembering Epictetus’s definition of appearances and realities. The philosopher states that appearances are not trustworthy and often do not appear as they really are. Great leaders possess a discerning spirit and are in touch with reality. Epictetus implores us to accept the idea that personal growth in virtue is of the utmost importance. His teachings hold to the concept that we are here to bring the right attitudes and actions to the people around you and to the external world (Morris, 2004 p. 88). A leader using Epictetus’s model of reasoning, restraining, and redirecting could possibly bring their team into conflict resolution quickly.
Epictetus and Legal Issues

Epictetus has been quoted as saying, “In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles” (Gill, n.d). The premise is appearances are deceiving and we have the capacity to redirect our thinking to choose more wisely. Reasoning should lead us. He also believed that our central focus should stay close to home working on the things we can control. Matters of the inner self, issues of character, and matters of the will were most important. Focusing on the negative in a courtroom is contrary to concentrating our intentions on inner matters of our will and trying daily to give up all external matters to God. The Stoic philosopher consistently reminds us that all things are filtered through the fingers of God and therefore useless to try and control.
Weaknesses in Philosopher’s Lessons
One of the greatest weaknesses in the philosophy of Epictetus is the techniques he suggests to rid ourselves of negative emotions to life events. He goes to extreme levels of dissociating himself with any parts of life that are messy and negative. According to Morris, (2004) “Anything outside the power of my will is not to disturb me at all”. (p. 114). He proclaims this motto to rid him of any enslavement in this life. Yet, it is impossible to be emotion free. Epictetus was quite in dealing with the topic of emotion.
Epictetus believed that we were created to be happy. To maintain happiness we must avoid negative emotions at all costs. By adopting this definition of happiness, Epictetus cannot have any truly deep positive commitments. Anything that is outside of his will and his sphere of control is of no value to him. His extreme thinking actually prevents him from freely loving and appreciating God’s gifts.
Another potential weakness is the stance Epictetus takes on associating with others who can benefit us by improving us in virtue and wisdom. I think this goes against what God calls us to do as Christians. To love is to serve unselfishly. Aspects of Epictetus’s philosophy are egocentric and self- serving.
CHOOSING EPICTETUS
Seneca lived by the Golden Rule. I respect much of what he believed and valued. His concept of living a consistent life with steadfastness holds true for me personally. Seneca believed that failure was simply inconsistency of our thoughts and behaviors. He seemed to focus more on the outward external things. He also seemed to hold Christian convictions. Unlike Epictetus, he believed that our heart and our mind needed to work together. They both believed in virtuous character. Epictetus tended to lean toward internal things while Seneca focused on the external. Since Seneca committed suicide, perhaps his philosophy on life is not to be emulated!
I actually really enjoyed the teachings of Marcus Aurelius. He seemed the most balanced of the three philosophers. He actually was concerned with the inner experience of life and the outer actions. He believed everything should be viewed in context and a broad perspective is most beneficial. He also believed in flexibility and the gift of time to re-evaluate. I can probably relate most to Aurelius. It would have been the easiest choice to write about Aurelius, yet I found Epictetus more interesting.
I felt Epictetus had overcome the most obstacles and he captured by curiosity. He was neither a prosperous attorney like Seneca nor the Emperor of Rome like Aurelius. He was born a slave, lived a simple gratuitous life, and possessed some interesting concepts. I do not agree with him on many topics but found him captivating. He possessed the most passion regarding philosophy. Epictetus was the most unlike me and I wanted to know more about him. I agree with his teachings on looking within ourselves and not to the external world for happiness. I could not relate to the stance he takes regarding emotional distance and being unencumbered by the people around us. I chose to write about Epictetus because he was the most interesting to me.

References

Augsburger, D. W. (2009). Caring enough to confront: How to understand and express your deepest feelings toward others. Ventura, CA: Regal Books.

George, B., & Sims, P. (2007). True north: Discover your authentic leadership.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons
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Gill, N. (n.d.). Epictetus Quotes. About.com Ancient / Classical History. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/stoicism/a/121510-Epictetus-Quotes.htm

Morris, T. V. (2004). The stoic art of living: Inner resilience and outer results. Chicago:Open Court.