Book Review: Discourses, Fragments, Handbook

Born around the year 50 and raised a slave in the Roman Empire, Epictetus was not destined to become an influential philosopher. His thoughts, however, have been widely read and they have proven to be sustainable through 2000 years. Recently, Oxford University Press has chosen to publish the only complete modern translation of Epictetus' Diatribai or Discourses, together with the Enchiridion or Handbook, and surviving fragments. Robin Hard's accurate and accessible translation is an absolute must have for anyone working in the field between philosophy and therapy.

Why does Epictetus' teaching appear as the most important existential philosophy of the Roman Empire, and why has it remained popular until today? One way of answering that question is through the story of American officer James Stockdale, whose plane was shot down over Vietnam in 1965. Stockdale was held as a prisoner of war for seven and a half years. In 1959, the U.S. Navy had sent Stockdale to Stanford University, where he not only received a Master's degree in international relations and comparative Marxist thought, but also studied Epictetus' Enchiridion intensively. Stockdale was released as a prisoner of war on the 12th of February 1973, and he later credited Epictetus' philosophy for helping him cope as a prisoner of war. Stockdale described his coping strategy during his period in the Vietnamese POW camp with these words: 'You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be' (Collins, 2001: p 83).

The philosophy of Epictetus is exactly based on the lived experience of captivity. It is similar to famous existential psychotherapist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's experience in Man's Search for Meaning (1959), describing his experiences as a concentration camp inmate during World War II, and explaining how the way the prisoners imagine their future affects their longevity. In the year 69, Epictetus was freed from physical slavery, and the rest of his life he taught his students how to free themselves from existential slavery, caused by dependence on passions and external things like material goods and social status. In other words, the experience of existential freedom is at the heart of Epictetus' teachings that perceive philosophy as a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. In accordance with prevalent Hellenistic and Roman ideas, Epictetus understood philosophy as a form of therapy, practiced as an art of living. Thus, philosophy is an attitude and lifestyle, which engages the whole of existence. Epictetus taught this art of living in his philosophy school in Rome, and as he states in Discourses: 'A philosopher's school, man, is a doctor's surgery'(Discourses, 3.23.30). In other words, his philosophy school was a clinic for the soul that people came to for a period to be treated for the passions and existential problems from which they suffered. Philosophy thus appears, primarily, as a therapeutic of the passions and existential challenges.

Epictetus himself apparently wrote nothing down. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian. In Epictetus' view, philosophy did not consist in exegesis of texts or in teaching of abstract theories. Philosophy was an experiential practice, which was orally transmitted, and its task was to educate people who lacked proper training in the art of living.

To Epictetus, the basic principle of living well consisted in the insight that 'some things are within our power, while others are not' (Handbook, 1.1). Peoples' existential suffering are caused by irrational beliefs, stemming from erroneous efforts to control or figure out matters that are beyond our power. This involves everything that is not of our own doing, like property, reputation, office and other people's minds. Any delusion on this point leads the slavery of the soul. Therefore, the philosophy students must learn to accept the things they cannot change. Human flourishing, eudaimonia, is to live from a good spirit, and its achievement also requires that one learns to control what is within our power, which involves everything that is of our own doing, like our opinion, motivation and desire. Therefore, the philosophy students must learn the courage to change the things they can. This means becoming a better person and benefit others. In 1937, American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr adopted this ethical principle and authored the Serenity Prayer, made popular by Alcoholics Anonymous:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference
(Niebuhr, 1987: p 241)

To Epictetus, existential slavery and suffering was essentially a result of bad education, and therefore therapy involved a corrective education for people who were not able to conform to the norms and conventions of society. However, the goal of therapy was not to readjust students – or clients – to the prevalent values and ideals of culture. Rather, therapy aimed at teaching the students how to live independently in society, and therefore they had to unlearn everything they previously knew about life. The philosophy school, then, considered listening as the first step in the learning of true discourse, which would enable the students to take in logos and gain some sense in their lives.

Therapy did not consist in simply teaching the students some skills or competencies. Instead, therapy should raise the students from an inauthentic and darkened way of life to an authentic and enlightened way of living. In other words, therapy aimed at a spiritual awakening that should completely transform the lives and selves of the students. To learn to accept what is not of our own doing means to surrender part of our will to God, and the result of therapy would be that students know their place in the universe. In the end, what is beyond our power is the fact that one day we must die and become recycled in nature. Instead of fearing this moment, therapy trains the student to death by teaching them to let go of everything which is unnecessary for living well.

To me, reading Epictetus was an eye-opening experience. His teachings are forceful and challenging, comparable to the very best of contemporary writings on existential philosophy and psychotherapy. Even though Discourses and Handbook have been amongst the most widely read and influential of all philosophical writings on therapy, they have never directly influenced modern existential therapy. However, they not only speak to modern readers seeking meaning in their own lives. The texts are also highly relevant to existential therapists looking for profound insights into ways of dealing with clients' experience of suffering and existential captivity. I can highly recommend everyone in the existential community to read the new translation of Discourses and Handbook.

References

Collins, J. (2001). Good To Treat. New York: HarperCollins.

Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man's Search For Meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.

Niebuhr, R. (1987). The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses. New Haven: Yale University Press

Anders Draeby Soerensen