Discourses and Selected Writings

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 108

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Book 1

Part 1, Book 2

Part 1, Book 3

Part 1, Book 4

Part 2

Part 3

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

Epictetus had been into enslavement and had a lifelong disability. What insights does Epictetus’s biography offer on his philosophy and Stoic ideas in general?

How would you define “natural law” based on Epictetus’s words? What is the role of nature and natural law in Epictetus’s views, especially his understanding of the universe, human nature, and the good?

Doing original research, compare Stoicism as presented by Epictetus to another of the major philosophical schools: Platonism, Cynicism, Epicureanism, or Pyrrhonism. How are they different or similar? What does each reflect about life and intellectual thought in Greek and Roman antiquity?

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