Study Questions for Epictetus

According to Epictetus:

1. What kind of things are “up to us”? What kind are not?

2. Which other expressions are used to describe things that are “up to us”?

3. Why should we eliminate desire completely, for the time being?

4. What should we want in order to make our lives “go well”?

5. What upsets people? Why should we never blame others for upsetting us?

6. About what should we be “joyful,” and why?

7. Why should you not be upset about a death in your family?

8. How should we think about and respond to family members who treat us unjustly?

9. How does a philosopher differ from a non-philosopher?

10. How does a philosopher differ from a “partly educated” person?

11. How does a philosopher differ from a “grammarian”?

12. What is the most important aspect of piety toward the gods?

13. What faculties do we have that distinguish us from irrational animals, and why do we have them?

14. What is the true nature of god? In what way are you “a fragment of god”?

15. Why should we think that all of our actions are “observed by god”?