Epictetus

On April 26, 121, in Rome, Italy, Marcus Annius Verus was born. He grew up in a wealthy and prestigious family. By the time Marcus had been born, his grandfather had already held several high ranking government positions; his aunt was married to the future emperor; and his grandmother was set to inherit one of the largest fortunes in Rome at the time. Even as a young child, Marcus was a hardworking and studious pupil. A few of his favorite tutors included Apollonius of Chalcedon, Junius Rusticus…

of the Roman Empire. The answer came in the first meeting of the senate when Octavian theatrically relinquished all his powers to the Roman Senate. In exchange for these powers Octavian received a new name, Augustus. In Discourses (III. Xiii. 9) Epictetus tells us, "For you see that Caesar appears to furnish us with great peace. There are no more enemies, nor battles, robbers, or pirates, but we can travel at every hour and sail from the rising sun to the setting." This is the beginning of the…

I really enjoy writing about the philosophical thought that is at the root of this lifestyle we call minimalism. I especially like to write about the ideas of the ancient greek and roman thinkers like Epicurus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. At the same time, I 've been trying to cover a variety of topics over this first year-and-a-half of blogging, so I haven 't been writing about that particular subject lately. It 's also been a while since I 've read any philosophical…

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a system that finds behavioral treatment which helps people see the relationship between beliefs, thoughts, feelings, subsequent behavior patterns and actions. It has been found effective in more than 400 outcome studies for several psychiatric disorders, which involves eating and anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse (etc.) This connects to me in the way of me becoming a nurse futurewise. With wanting to become a nurse this research could…

The culture at Georgetown has one major issue that needs to fixed because it poses a moral problem. This problem is the competiveness of students at Georgetown. Most students feel pressured into getting the best grades or being included in the best clubs. If they are not apart of these clubs, then they feel left out or have hard times finding friends. Students will spend hours in the library in order to study for a test because they feel that they must be better than other students. Georgetown…

years of War but from what I know now as Alienation. I think Karl Marx hit the nail on the head with that one, the people I worked with were miserable! Of all the Philosopers we have studied I think I align more with the Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus and the Materialist Karl Marx, an interesting combination I know. Like the Stoics I believe that the only thing we can really control is our attitudes and ultimately, through the decisions we make we can influence our fate. I have told my…

Engineering and ethics; two things that go hand in hand and is the main focus of our course. For where would we be without ethics in engineering? Engineers do what they can to uphold the high reputation of being an engineer. They do this by acting in an ethical manner in accordance with certain regulations and what they believe the right thing to do is. But how is an engineer to know what is right and what is wrong? For that he or she can look to many resources, but in particular an engineer can…

main difference between these philosophies is the way that they are applied. Since the Stoics apply these concepts in a more reasonable and less rigid way than the Cynics, Stoicism is a major improvement on Cynicism. The core of Diogenes’ and Epictetus’ doctrines is to cast away unnecessary things that we are dependent on in order to attain self-sufficiency. Although this key concept is shared between these doctrines, Diogenes’ interpretation…

1) On Lao Tzu, Mo Tzu, and Hsun Tzu, how do they differ in relation to what counts as harmonizing? Do you think that harmony exists empirically or is it merely a rationalist's dream (are you skeptical of harmony's existence)? On the topic of how music relates to bringing harmony to the world, Hzun Tzu has a more positive outlook on how music can actually bring about harmony to a society. He believes that music actually correlates with harmony for it acts as common ground that every single…

leadership I take, I must have commitment and the ability to achieve the challenges I will face in the workplace. As a professional, I must show respect, appreciation, participation while engage in the workforce. As the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. “We have to be aware one’s need. Whatever the position one’s is, integrity must apply in a leader character for it will reflect by the staff in the care…