Analysis Of Who Am I By Epictetus

The question “Who Am I?” has many possible answers unique to everyone. The answer for me lies in several different ideas from the texts that I will cite, including what defines me mentally, religiously, and socially. The first thing that defines me as an individual is the idea of only controlling what is under my control. Epictetus writes in The Art of Living, “Outside our control, however, are such things as what kind of body we have, whether we’re born into wealth or strike it rich, how we are regarded by others, and our status in society. We must remember that those things are externals and are therefore not our concern. Trying to control or to change what we can’t only results in torment” (Page 3, par. 3). Here, Epictetus is writing about …show more content…
It presumes full respect for the human person, but it must also be concerned for the world around us and ‘take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system’. Accordingly, our human ability to transform reality must proceed in line with God’s original gift of all that is” (Prologue, 5. Sentence 8). This passage describes how humanity as a whole should be treating our earth. Here, Pope Francis is stating that while we as humans reserve our own rights and respect, we should also consider the world around us that was created by God. Therefore, our use of nature should align with the will of God, not our own selfish needs. This is an important passage in “Laudato Si” because it sets the basis for the rest of the encyclical, that humans need to respect nature and not overuse her resources. I chose this passage because this is something that I carry out every day in my life. This theme applies well to my experiences in the Boy Scouts of America, where the preservation of nature is a critical tenant of the Boy Scout code. The idea of “Leave No Trace” is a fundamental Boy Scout code that states that a scout should dispose of waste properly, leave nature as found, and respect wildlife. I was in the boy scouts for 7 years, and this code of respecting nature connects well with Pope Francis’ …show more content…
He knows that being male came with certain advantages and privilege in his society, so he reasons to stay a male. Silence’s acceptance of his male gender ultimately reveals the misogyny of the narrator, which appears throughout this book. Throughout most of the story, male pronouns are used to denote positive or good things, while female pronouns denote negative things. Though this passage gives evidence to the suggestion that the author is misogynistic, it does reveal the idea of struggle within Silence, to make a decision that is essentially life or death. Thus, I chose this passage because at some point in life we encounter doubt, and we must make decisions that will affect our