Epictetus

Epictetus (c. 50-c. 120 CE) was born a slave. His master, Epaphroditus, allowed him to attend the lectures of the Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus and later gave him his freedom. From numerous references in his Discourses it is clear that Epictetus valued freedom as a precious possession. He would have been on the side of the many people living now who, while not actually enslaved, are denied true freedom by the harsh circumstances of their lives. Epictetus's teachings about freedom and human dignity have echoed through the millennia-in the writings of Spinoza, Thomas Paine and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few. He was much concerned with human behavior. His advice to not worry about what is not in our control is pointedly relevant to our busy modern society-which is often fraught with anxiety. Some people might argue that what Epictetus taught is not serious philosophy, more like self-help. But the range of topics addressed by the essays in this book clearly indicates that the teachings of Epictetus provide strong incentive to present day philosophical thinking. Epictetus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance is the title of a conference on Epictetus held at Rochester Institute of Technology in April 2012, when many of the ideas in these essays were first presented. This book is part of the RIT Press Philosophy Series.

Dane R. Gordon is Professor Emeritus in Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology. His books include: A Feeling Intellect and a Thinking Heart (University Press of America, 2002), Philosophy and Vision (Rodopi, 1998, first published in Polish in 1995), The Old Testament in its Theological, Cultural and Historical Context (Prentice-Hall, 1985, and UPS, 1994), and Thinking and Reading in Philosophy of Religion (Haven, 1994).

David B. Suits is Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology. His current research interests include the philosophy of death, the philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and the nature of empathy. He is finishing a book, The Singularity of Death: An Epicurean Perspective.