Studies in the field of Stoic ethics

“Life is indifferent in itself, but how you treat your life is not indifferent” (Epictetus: Conversations II. 6. 1). There has been a growing interest in Stoic ethics worldwide in recent decades. This can also be felt in Hungarian book publishing: the works of Seneca and Epictetus, as well as the new translation of Marcus Aurelius's Reflections, were very well received by the readers. Our volume contains nine studies on the subject of Stoic ethics. The study "The Inner Freedom of the Ancient Philosopher" and "The Timeliness of Stoic Ethics" deals with the integrity of the personality, which is an indispensable precondition for moral behavior and action. "Stoic Ethics and the Soul Therapy of Epictetus" was originally written as an afterword to the book All Works of Epictetus and is intended to present the philosopher's complete theory of ethics. "The Epicthetic Reformation of Stoic Ethics" shows that the ethical teaching of Epictetus, contrary to popular belief, offers significant new ideas and procedures compared to the older Stoic doctrine. “The Epicthetic Narrative” explains how events that happen to man become consciously lived experiences and how we need to analyze and handle them in an ethically correct way. "In the Moral Philosophical Teaching of Epictetus, Personal Care" analyzes the content of the philosopher's concept of care, which is central from both an ethical and theological point of view. "On the Platonic Origin of Stoic Oliquisis" shows how the concept of the self develops in Plato's theory and becomes one of the basic concepts of Stoic thinking. "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Philosophus" sheds new light on the figure and work of the philosopher-emperor. The study "Antecedents of Epicthetic Ethics: Aristotle, Bion, Teles" contains a Hungarian translation of the surviving fragments of the three philosophers, arguing by analyzing their text that several elements of Epictetus' teaching that differ from the Orthodox Stoic doctrine, c. Relative to the thoughts of 3rd century thinkers.