Episode 124: The Stoic Life with Epictetus (Part One)

Summary: On the Manual of Epictetus, aka The Enchiridion, from around 135 CE.<br> What's a wise strategy for life? What is freedom? Stoicism says that the secret is mastering yourself. If you let yourself be perturbed by things that happen to you, then you're a slave to those external things. Your good lies only in the things you can (with practice) control, i.e., your own attitudes, judgments, and opinions. Even a slave can be free, according to this strategy: Nothing external can break your spirit unless you let it.<br> The full four are joined by comedian Alex Fossella of the <a href="http://moderndayphilosophers.net/" target="_blank">Modern Day Philosophers podcast</a> to argue about how weird and misguided Epictetus's advice actually is. <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/09/19/topic124-stoicism-epictetus/" target="_blank">Read more about the topic and get the book</a>.<br> Continued on <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/09/28/ep124-2-epictetus/" target="_blank">part 2</a>, or get the ad-free, unbroken <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/09/19/ep124-epictetus-citizen/" target="_blank">Citizen Edition</a>. <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support" target="_blank">Please support PEL!</a><br> Epictetus image by Sterling Bartlett.<br>