Although a completely stoic attitude as described by Epictetus may seem completely inapplicable to modern life, there are many ideas that are not only still prevalent today, but also that provide good advice to consider in modern society. While a complete dissociation with emotion is impossible, Epictetus seemed to emphasize a tight control over those emotions rather than a lack of emotion altogether. Epictetus encourages humans to sympathize and help others through their tough times without involving their own feelings. In section 16, he applies this idea to a person grieving for their lost loved ones, saying “do not hesitate, however, to sympathize with him verbally, and even to moan with him if the occasion arises; but be careful not …show more content…
By encouraging sympathy instead of aloofness, he acknowledges the necessity of emotions. Instead of encouraging stoics to be completely standoffish and arrogant in their understanding of the griever’s pain, he simply emboldens the stoics to sympathize with that pain and help him push past the hard time. Epictetus’ main point in “The Encheiridion” is simply to not let yourself be incapacitated by your emotions, but instead, to “turn to yourself and ask what capacity you have for dealing with it.” (Section 10) In this objective view of experiencing emotion, analyzing the cause of that emotion, judging it as insignificant or unimportant, and being able to move on in life and not be burdened is an impressive feat and still admirable in modern society. In current times, it is simply impossible to live without strong emotions clouding judgement and affecting actions. The radicalism that dominates modern American politics demonstrates this; the country is extremely divided simply by matters of opinion, but citizens and political figures have such strong emotions tied to these opinions that the country has become an unstable. If everyone were to step back and approach problems with some of Epictetus’ stoicism, there might be more progress toward creating a common goal for the good of the