Concept tag
#providence
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Epictetus says some things are up to us. What did that depend on for him?
I drive a city bus in Ankara and I listen to lectures between stops. Epictetus is my favourite. The Handbook begins by saying some things are up to us and some are not: our opinions, desires and aversions are up to us;…
Started by Serkan Aydoğdu5 replies176 views -
If the Stoic technique works without the Stoic cosmos, the cosmos was never doing the work
I burnt out last year running a startup, and Stoicism helped me back. I read Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius and practised separating what's in my control from what isn't. I don't believe in a rationally ordered cosmos governed by providence. The practice…
Started by Rohan Desai7 replies312 views -
Take away the rational cosmos and Stoic ethics becomes a coping technique
My students discover Marcus Aurelius on their phones before they discover him in my classroom, usually as short videos about controlling what you can control. I am glad they find him. But I want to defend a thesis that spoils the mood…
Started by Giulia Ferrante6 replies304 views -
At three in the morning, does a first cause comfort anyone?
I work nights in intensive care in Uppsala. A few weeks ago, while his father was dying, a man asked me whether I thought there was a reason for everything. He didn't want an argument, I think. He wanted to know if…
Started by Elin Lindqvist5 replies216 views -
Did Epicurus actually make the argument from evil that carries his name?
In my theology seminar the lecturer put up the famous dilemma, "Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Able but not willing? Then he is malevolent...", with "Epicurus" printed under it. A friend in classics…
Started by Aoife Brennan4 replies210 views