Epictetus' discussion of the death of spouse and child in Encheiridion 3 raises interesting probl... more Epictetus' discussion of the death of spouse and child in Encheiridion 3 raises interesting problems on the meaning of "person" in his Stoic philosophy. The author uses Epictetus' discussion as a window into his notion of person, and weighs the strengths and weaknesses of that notion. The Stoic view of person represents an advance over pre-Stoic views. It offers us a better way to look at significant others throughout life, and helps us better to deal with their loss. Yet it falls short of being a fully satisfactory notion of person, because it does not address the fact that I am constituted as person only in relationship to others who are themselves persons. Keywords Epictetus; person; Zizioulas, John D. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Τί τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦτο γέγονε μυστήριον; Πῶς παρεδόθημεν τῇ φθορᾷ, καὶ συνεζεύχθημεν τῷ θανάτῷ;¹ Crises rarely change minds. They serve rather as occasions to reveal our deepest thoughts and ideas, which were conceived and born in the quiet of daily life and experience. They test the limits and weaknesses of those ideas. Because they reveal those thoughts and test those ideas, crises are valuable. No crisis is more valuable as touchstone than death. For death is not merely a theoretical, but also a practical and existential crisis. It is also universal, touching rich and poor, wise and foolish, young and old. And its effect is most profound, bringing to an end not merely this or that personal project, but the person himself with all his projects at once. That is why, in exploring the Stoic conception of the person, it can be worthwhile for us to consider the writings of Epictetus on death.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyr... more This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed on non-aging paper by Laupp & Göbel in Gomaringen and bound by Nädele in Nehren.
Epictetus' discussion of the death of spouse and child in Encheiridion 3 raises interesting probl... more Epictetus' discussion of the death of spouse and child in Encheiridion 3 raises interesting problems on the meaning of "person" in his Stoic philosophy. The author uses Epictetus' discussion as a window into his notion of person, and weighs the strengths and weaknesses of that notion. The Stoic view of person represents an advance over pre-Stoic views. It offers us a better way to look at significant others throughout life, and helps us better to deal with their loss. Yet it falls short of being a fully satisfactory notion of person, because it does not address the fact that I am constituted as person only in relationship to others who are themselves persons. Keywords Epictetus; person; Zizioulas, John D. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Τί τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦτο γέγονε μυστήριον; Πῶς παρεδόθημεν τῇ φθορᾷ, καὶ συνεζεύχθημεν τῷ θανάτῷ;¹ Crises rarely change minds. They serve rather as occasions to reveal our deepest thoughts and ideas, which were conceived and born in the quiet of daily life and experience. They test the limits and weaknesses of those ideas. Because they reveal those thoughts and test those ideas, crises are valuable. No crisis is more valuable as touchstone than death. For death is not merely a theoretical, but also a practical and existential crisis. It is also universal, touching rich and poor, wise and foolish, young and old. And its effect is most profound, bringing to an end not merely this or that personal project, but the person himself with all his projects at once. That is why, in exploring the Stoic conception of the person, it can be worthwhile for us to consider the writings of Epictetus on death.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyr... more This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed on non-aging paper by Laupp & Göbel in Gomaringen and bound by Nädele in Nehren.
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