Please DO NOT USE CHAT/GPT or AI in this assignment. No use of secondary sources. No sources are required. Please use the lecture files I have attached for answers and information. This assignment would be passed via Turnitin, so please, no plagiarism.
Write a 400 – 600 word essay explaining Epictetus’s stoicism. Your essay should address the following:
1) You should begin by explaining the stoic project of achieving ataraxia and how this project relates to the emotions.
2) Your essay should explain what, according to Epictetus, causes our emotions and what we can do about unpleasant emotions that trouble us. Here you will need to define what beliefs are as discussed throughout the semester (see Lecture 1 and the list of definitions in the syllabus).
3) This is the most important part of the essay because here you are demonstrating you’ve understood how to use Epictetus’s philosophy even if you don’t agree with it. Therefore this should be the lengthiest and most detailed portion of your essay. Don’t phone it in. You may not use examples similar to ones I discussed in class (breakups and traffic). I want to see original thought that shows you’ve deeply understood the material and how to use it concretely.
4) Once you have explained the basics of Epictetus’s stoicism, discuss a difficult thing you have experienced in your life where you experienced troubling negative emotions. Be detailed and thorough explaining what happened and what you were going through.
5) Now, following the step by step method you were taught in Lecture 6, apply Epictetus’s method to what you experienced and how you could have gotten rid of the negative emotions you were experiencing. For Step 2, you should come up with 3- 4 beliefs and desires that caused your emotion. Again, be detailed, thorough, precise, and explicit in discussing these beliefs and desires. Here you are doing psychology and exploring how the way you thought about things without realizing influenced how you felt or the emotions you experienced. For Step 3 you will need to discuss 3- 4 beliefs and desires you could have adopted to change your emotional response to the situation. Remember, Epictetus is about changing how we think rather than changing what we do. Be careful not to slip into action language in this essay.
