The question of free will is one of the oldest and most enduring questions faced by humanity. It was contemplated by the ancient Greeks in their tragedies, such as in King Oedipus, where it appears that the hero’s fate is predetermined, regardless of his efforts to prevent or change it. The Greeks, and their cultural … Read more
Stoic philosopher Epictetus was born in Hierapolis in Asia Minor around 50 AD. He was a slave of Nero’s freedman Epaphroditus, who enabled him to attend lectures by the well-known Stoic Musonius Rufus, and later freed him. As a free man, he began teaching Stoic philosophy, first in Rome, and after the Roman emperor Domitian … Read more
Consider this in your hearts: if you strive with difficulty for anything noble, the struggle passes, but the noble deed endures; if you do anything shameful for the sake of pleasure, the pleasure passes, but the shame remains. Although less known today, Gaius Musonius Rufus (circa 30 – circa 100 AD) forms, together with Epictetus, … Read more
