Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;thejewk, post: 3917355, member: 100136&quot;][USER=93416]@EWC3[/USER] Firstly, that Marcus Aurelius quote is spurious and is unfortunately a commonly shared meme that runs counter to Stoic epistemology in a number of pretty serious ways.&nbsp; I have not been able to establish the actual source.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the Epictetus quote, I believe he is making the point that if a person is seriously considering how to &#039;live the good life&#039; they should examine how people who are specialists in certain areas of daily life behave, how they have established certain methods to ensure that they are not deceived by false impressions, and consider how that could be applied to the way that we experience events and how impressions about external events arise. </p><p><br /></p><p>The core principle in Epictetus&#039; method, or at least one of the core principles, is that nothing external is ever a good or a bad, because if that is so then we have no ability to alter them in any consistent way and are merely at the whim of the fates.&nbsp; If health is truly a good, then anyone who experiences ill health is necessarily cut off from living the good life.&nbsp; If financial wealth is part of the good, then any loss of wealth cuts us off from accessing the good life, and again we are at the mercy of the fates.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you are interested in learning about Stoic ethics, I recommend looking at Cicero&#039;s De Finibus in which he has the character of Cato explain the Stoic system as developed by the Romans with excellent clarity.&nbsp; Similarly, Diogenes Laertius does something similar.&nbsp; Epictetus himself is very interesting.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in