Epictetus on Providence

PLEASE NOTE: The initial posting for this meetup had the wrong date. The correct one is now displayed: Sunday, 10/26.

We continue our series featuring an in-depth look at the Discourses of Epictetus, a book that has literally changed my life and that I think is one of the most important of the entire Western philosophical canon, if not of philosophy worldwide.

I recommend the Robin Waterfield translation of Epictetus, published in 2024 by the University of Chicago Press. However, a free version, based on the W.A. Oldfather translation from 1925, is avaialble at Wikisource.

In episode 9 we will begin by tackling Discourses 1.13, "How to do whatever whatever we do in a way that pleases God," where Epictetus argues that the existence of a divine providence carries some moral duties. Should there be time, we will go on to talk about Discourses 1.14, "That the deity watches over us all," where we get a version of what is nowadays called the argument from design for the existence of god. We'll see what these two sections mean if one is a modern Stoic believer, as well as if one is a modern Stoic atheist.

Please note that the zoom link will be shared with registered attendees on this page on the morning of the event, so make sure to check it before attempting to log in. Also, for security reasons (i.e., reducing the chances of "zoom bombings"), please do not share the link outside our group! Thanks!