Epictetus concentrated on teaching his students how to lead an ideal Stoic life. His teachings on logic, natural philosophy and ethics did not vary greatly from the original ideas set out almost four hundred years earlier by Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus, the founders of the Stoic school, but Epictetus developed a new system for teaching the practice of Stoicism. Like all the Hellenistic philosophers, he regarded moral philosophy as a means of teaching people to lead better lives and achieve eudaimonia ('happiness' or 'a flourishing life'). For the Stoics this meant a life motivated by virtue.
To this end, Epictetus identified three topoi (topics) on which a Stoic should focus in order to achieve happiness. The first, Discipline of Desire,
To this end, Epictetus identified three topoi (topics) on which a Stoic should focus in order to achieve happiness. The first, Discipline of Desire,