The Discourses of Epictetus: 2, Role ethics

We continue our series of in-depth discussions of 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. The idea is to slowly and deliberately make our way through all four books of the Discourses, taking our time to understand what Epictetus says, why he says it, and whether it may be helpful to us denizens of the 21st century.

This time we'll resume with section 1.2, "How to preserve conformity with one's role in every situation." There, Epictetus explains his theory of role ethics, featuring examples ranging from how to deal with a tyrant to whether a philosopher should shave off his beard if that compromises his identity as a philosopher.

I recommend the Robin Waterfield translation of Epictetus, published in 2024 by the University of Chicago Press.

Please note that the zoom link will be shared with registered atteendess via Meetup email, so make sure your settings allow for communications from Organizers. Also, for security reasons (i.e., reducing the chances of "zoom bombing"), the meeting will be locked five minutes after starting time, no exceptions. Please be on time!