Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was probably born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present day Pamukkale, Turkey), and lived in Rome until his exile to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he lived most of his life and died. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses. Philosophy, he taught, is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control, but we can accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. Individuals, however, are responsible for their own actions which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. As part of the universal city that is the universe, human beings have a duty of care to all fellow humans. The person who followed these precepts would achieve happiness.
Fin bog. Lidt mærkeligt sammensat men med gode principper. Nogle af levereglerne er dog ikke særligt sunde, som f.eks. at skulle forholde sig kold overfor dødsfald i familien. I sådanne tilfælde er sorg nødvendig, og det gør det ikke nødvendigvis bedre at negligere sorgen og sige "sådan er livet".
Det er også okay at ærge sig, selvfølgelig indenfor rimelighedens grænser, da det at ærge sig er med til at sørge for at man handler anderledes næste gang. Her kan "pyt med det" tilgangen vise sig at have den modsatte effekt.
Jeg kan godt lide stoicismens grundprincipper om ikke at være et offer, acceptere virkeligheden og forholde sig roligt. Dog kan det også blive for meget.
Absolut fremragende bog om grundprincipperne i stoicismen.
De 53 emner, som behandles med de originale narrativer, er høj aktuelle for det moderne menneske. Specielt områderne om det der er i vores kontrol og det som ikke er i vores kontrol. Moderne mennesker beskæftiger sig alt for meget med det sidste og fokusere ikke på det første.