In our first excerpt, Keith Seddon discusses the background to the core Stoic idea of the importance of understanding what is in our power and what is not, which was at the heart, in particular, of Epictetus’ whole teaching programme. Within the maxim, there is considerable depth, much more than a first glance might suggest….
So click here to read part one! Tomorrow, part two will be uploaded, which will explore key passages that discuss the theme in depth, as well as an exercise to try.
Please post below your reflections on this key Stoic maxim!
What is in Our Power: Part One
Epictetus
More about Keith Seddon & Stoic Serenity: Keith Seddon is director of the MA and PhD programmes in Ancient Philosophy at Warnborough College, Ireland. He is a freelance academic and writer, who started the ‘Stoic Foundation’ in 2000, an educational trust, offering advice, support and a correspondence course (on which his book Stoic Serenity, from which our extract is taken, is based) in practical Stoic philosophy to anyone interested in taking up Stoicism as a philosophy to live by. Our thanks go to Keith for allowing his work to be reproduced on this blog.
