The Use of Presentations and the Three Topics of Epictetus’ Philosophy

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the eph´hemin kai ouk eph´hemin distinction and the status of the indifferents in Epictetus, the use of representations as human good, the three topics of Epictetus’ philosophy and the relationship they keep among themselves. Next, we present the three topics of Epictetus’ philosophy: the topic relating to desire, the topic relative to impulse and the topic concerning assent, the first dealing with our judgments about things and desires; the second, with appropriate impulses and actions; and the third, the assent and persuasiveness of the representations. The knowledge contained in these three topics summarizes, for Epictetus, what is required to make good use of representations and, consequently, to achieve human good.