Epictetus (c. 50 - c. 150)           Epicurus (341 BCE - 270 BCE)

Study questions for Epictetus The Handbook and "Hellenistic Philosophy" in the CC Reader:

1. How would you sum up the major tenets of Epicureanism? Does Epicurus’ teaching correspond to the way we think of Epicurean pleasures today?
2. How would you characterize the major tenets of Stoicism? Does it sound more like stoicism as we think of it today than real Epicureanism sounds like we think of it today?
3. In what major ways are the two philosophies similar? In what important ways to they differ? For example, how do their respective views of the natural world affect the development of their ideas?
4. Both Epicureanism and Stoicism, in my view, are appealing philosophies. Which do you prefer and why?
5. In what ways do these philosophies rest on ideas that come down from Plato and, especially, Aristotle? How do they diverge in form, style and direction from these two titans of Greek philosophy?
6. Finally, do these texts help us to gain a more nuanced view of the world-view of the ancient world? Can we see seeds of ideas that we’ll encounter in the next few weeks here?