22) Stoicism - Epictetus's "Enchiridion"

[@privateequityguy]

*“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” ―Epictetus*

[@AliveWithPassion]

Wish I had great teachers like this when I was in school.

[@pitcat65]

4wwatt 3

[@eruslevi5714]

Thank you very much for uploading this, from my home in brazil i can now watch a philosophy class. You're doing science's work, keep it up!

[@Grudeman408]

Absolutely FANTASTIC class, so interesting and so much information to digest 👍

Man, your example using 2+2=4 to explain the concept of "amor fati" was one of the most brilliant explanations I've seen lately. Congratulations!

[@MRTROLLHAM]

Awesome, i am going to watch all of this series. Fantastic teacher.

[@beep-beep]

I’ve always had this preconceived notion that Stoics were always emotionally blunted and stunted in social awareness. This video has opened my eyes

[@niranjangupta8399]

This lecture is insightful, loved it.

[@psychedelicbreakfast8513]

Very easy to listen and follow.. not boring or dull. I like your style

[@athenassigil5820]

My internet Prof, great lecturer..well, for me, at least....stay stoic, my friends......

[@reveranttangent1771]

Stay? But I'm a heretical neoplatonist 😝

[@florianmeganck3625]

this guy is amazing!

[@dsmyify]

Thanks for posting this great lecture. Is there a lecture on Seneca?

[@notexactlyrocketscience]

Awesome teacher. What's the word for that feeling starting at 15:48 at culminating at 16:02? It's more than just resigning, lol

[@edwardwehr1358]

Wow, what a teacher, just so interesting to listen to :)

[@rachcliffe3182]

Just with a fingerouch, Im at a fantastic lecture!

[@koolhead17]

Hey Adam, thanks for these videos. Is there a way one can contribute? Like is there a buymeaBeer page? Would love to contribute for your session. from India :)

[@Jamie-bu9cq]

Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙏

[@adamadeptus3686]

I loved this video, thank you for sharing! Very helpful.

[@JustinMassmann]

THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!

[@smallbeginnings3497]

Professor , can we get some reading materials in description too, so that it will be a more fun experience.

[@ramonvanidoso]

Thank you very much for posting this! It is really interesting, very well explained and ...free?? Amazing!

[@TheBuslaefff]

Thank you for your effort! Here some interesting books on Epictetus: -"How to be free" from A.A Long. Explains in the plain English what is will, and translation is less obscure. -"Philosophy for life" from Jules Evans. Firstbchapters explore modern influence of Epictetus ideas on Navy and Psychology. -"Courage under fire" from James B Stockdale. Inspiring essay from Vietnam POW survivor.

[@koolhead17]

Also is there anything about Seneca as well in these sessions? :)

[@Theydonotcare]

Thank you.

[@abhishekbhaskar7490]

Thank u sir.. Great lecture 🤩

[@parkaahparkaah821]

Hello , you're a great teacher

[@BarryHawk]

Excellent

[@dulciesatler2116]

There is always THAT ONE KID IN CLASS

[@ShinFuYux]

Is someone moving the camera or do you have a tracker that follows you wherever you move?

[@adamrosenfeld9384]

I'm using a Swivl robot (www.swivl.com/).

[@RunningCordoroy]

basically the true self is only possible when your will is focused only on things within your control? so your true self is your will? and you can "waste yourself" by focusing on things outside the control of your will?

[@parepidemosproductions4741]

Learning what is out of my control as I accept what is out of control becomes more painful as I realize but easier when I accept them. Funny how THAT WORKS

[@threethrushes]

Most people in life want things without putting in the work. They want the outcome, not the process. Learn to love the process.

[@sirbattlecat]

Especially in this age of instant gratification.

[@Songriquole]

You put in the work because you want the outcome in the first place. You're putting the cart before the horse here. If you can get the outcome without putting in the work, why work at all? If you have to drill a tunnel through a mountain, you're not going to use a toothpick. And if technology allows you to get the same kind of reward much quicker and with less effort, it'd be insane not to use it. "Learning to love the process" is ironically a way to get instant gratification, because the reward/outcome, the gratification, is in the process itself, and changes the work's nature in order for it to not be as requiring of effort anymore. In other words, you're adopting the exact same behavior than the people you seem to look down on. You might speak of being spoilt by the ease of the process, but we're all spoilt relatively to our ancestors. Each previous generation had it worse, and each generation will scorn the next in turn, precisely because they don't have to spend so much energy to reap the same rewards. These kinds of things are self regulating anyways.

[@threethrushes]

@@Songriquole Learn to love the process. It is a simple maxim.

[@jonirojonironin5353]

@@Songriquole For the Stoics, the joy is in the act. It's in following virtue. The outcome is and was never considered. As in the meditations of Marcus Aurelius, you put in the work because that is what you were made for. The outcome, throw it away, as Epictetus would say.

[@Greg87145]

Think of Epictetus's near contemporary Spartacus. If Spartacus had been a Stoic, he would have decided that slavery was not under his control, and would have changed his mind so that he wanted slavery to exist, thereby becoming "invincible."

[@mrcharrington1]

Great lecture. Does anyone know the textbook he is referencing? (Not Enchiridion)

[@adamrosenfeld9384]

We're working from Forrest Baird's "Ancient Philosophy" in this course.

[@mrcharrington1]

Thanks very much. I'm 68 and only recently discovered Stoicism. Although I've always followed many of its beliefs and ethics, it's good to put a name to it.

[@josepefeeeeseee2578]

Handbook of life.

[@threethrushes]

@@mrcharrington1 Better late than never.

[@aepceo1]

Oh my god, I'd pay good money for this professor at university.

[@rckli]

Enchiridion isn’t meant to be a “forced read” Someone has to WANT to read it for it to work. Thank you for not making it a quiz’d read haha I’m not in your class - I’m just grateful you didn’t force em

[@timrussell7220]

Don't worry, I got your Star Trek reference.

[@rachcliffe3182]

Fingertouch!

[@ViralVirus]

In my opinion this lecture didn't make justice to the stoic filosofie. Its so much more then that.

[@leakytuesday4054]

#tbt critical thinking!

[@leakytuesday4054]

Id really like to hear Giorgios joke...

[@pinosantilli8297]

Dang, they don't know about the 3 lights of Captain Picard? Remember Adam they are not of OUR generation...

[@haroldbridges515]

Does the prof really believe that you can't change people's beliefs whether or not they acquiesce? Has he never heard of advertising?

[@adamrosenfeld9384]

Hi there. Thanks for your questions. First, as it turns out I *have* heard of advertising. Are you suggesting that advertising is so powerful that no one has the willpower to resist it? Second, I should point out that in each of these lectures, my aim is to represent and defend the text, so I'm not necessarily I'm not necessarily representing my own views as I am exploring ideas. In this lecture, the text is Epictetus's "Enchiridion." I can assure you that while advertising was not the trillion-dollar industry that it is today in Epictetus's time, the notion of trying to persuade others with rhetoric was nothing new. I'm more than happy to have a conversation as to whether or not the Stoics put too much faith in their own abilities to control their rational minds. But I'd say the issue is a bit more complicated than a simple gesture towards advertising.

[@haroldbridges515]

@@adamrosenfeld9384You're making a quantification error here. To refute the claim that advertising changes people's beliefs it is not necessary to show that advertising is so powerful that no one has the willpower to resist it. It is sufficient to show that not everyone has the willpower to resist it, which, as it turns out, is the vast majority, leaving aside for the moment the question of whether willpower itself is actually of any use at all in resisting appeals below the level of conscious awareness. That aside, it is many, many years since I have sat in an undergraduate classroom, but you have all my sympathy, Prof. The kids seem like slugs and your job like kicking a dead whale across the beach. Whatever they pay you isn't enough.

[@pinosantilli8297]

Advertising is mind control...NO?

[@jmcampbell05]

EXCELLENT - EXCELLENT - EXCELLENT----- USE Jordan Peterson as your model for the future-- These students need you to digest this for them, as they didn't dare tackle it out of honor!

[@jmcampbell05]

Imagine you with Lasik surgery (no glasses), no beard, better haircut, 30 fewer pounds, and grown-up clothes-- a whole different presentation-- totally leveled up!

[@uniphcommunity.thewhitetower]

Very good points made Dr.Rosenfeld! Rediscovering the nature of things hidden behind what appears to be "the true image of a situation" is of utmost importance if we are to behave like Stoics do!