The Relevance of Moral Theory to Moral Improvement in Epictetus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23246792 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John M Cooper (0009-0002-4852-2468, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Pages | 9-19 |
| Publication date | 2007-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | The Philosophy of Epictetus (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233076.003.0002 |
| OpenAlex | W2481473582 |
| ISBN | 9780199233076 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
This chapter argues that Epictetus accepted and followed the views of the original Stoics, according to which the essential thing in moral improvement was an increase in one's understanding of the philosophically articulated reasons for believing the fundamental Stoic claims about the human good and how to achieve it. He did not accept that such improvement could be achieved by merely rhetorical efforts to paint attractive pictures of life according to Stoic principles, as other Imperial Stoic authors, such as Seneca before him and Marcus Aurelius after, did. His Discourses, which do employ lots of such rhetorical devices to this effect, do not represent his teaching to his pupils; but we can recover from them sufficient information about his teaching of Stoic philosophy to confirm that he did accept and follow the original Stoics' ideas about what moral improvement does require: increasingly deep philosophical understanding of the reasons why the Stoic theories about how one should live are true.
Epistemology · Political science · Relevance (law) · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2021 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |