Epictetus (redirected from Epitectus)

Epictetus (ĕpĭktē`təs), c.A.D. 50–c.A.D. 138, Phrygian Stoic philosopher. He wrote nothing, but his teachings were set down by his disciple Arrian in the Discourses and the Encheiridion. Epictetus emphasized indifference to external goods and taught that the true good is within oneself. His Stoicism was outstanding in its insistence on the doctrine of the brotherhood of man.

Bibliography

See study by I. Xenakis (1969).

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Epictetus

(born c. AD 55—died c. 135) Greek philosopher associated with Stoicism. His original name is not known; epiktetos means “acquired.” He is not known to have written anything, but his teachings were transmitted by his pupil Arrian (d. c. AD 180) in two works, the Discourses and the Encheiridion. True education, Epictetus believed, consists in recognizing that the only thing that belongs to an individual fully is his will. Humans are not responsible for the ideas that present themselves to their consciousness, though they are wholly responsible for how they react to them.