Epictetus, c. 50 – c. 135
AD) was a Greek stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery to a Roman master, gained his freedom only to be banished from Rome. Spending his remaining life in northwestern Greece. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion. The Enchiridion of Epictetus is a
short manual of Stoic ethical advice. Eschewing Metaphysics the branch of
philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and
time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of consciousness and the
relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality. The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean "after or behind or among the study of the natural".
Epictetus claimed, "It is
impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he
already knows.”
He also
said: “Only the educated are free.”
