Three Questions for Assessing Our Complicity in Our Own Suffering (Epictetus – Enchiridion 5)

The Stoic Jew

Synopsis: Today’s reading is from a chapter in Epictetus’s handbook which is loaded with weighty concepts. Our focus, however, will be on a single point. Stoicism and Judaism both prompt us to turn our focus inwards, and to recognize how we are complicit in our own suffering. However, Shlomo ha’Melech (King Solomon) takes a very different direction in Sefer Mishlei (The Book of Proverbs) than Epictetus does in his brand of Stoicism. In this episode we attempt to gain clarity on that difference, and we utilize a powerful question (divided into three sub-questions) formulated by coach Jerry Colonna for helping us assess our complicity in our own suffering.

Sources:
- Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook) Chapter 5
- Tim Ferriss interview: Jerry Colonna — The Coach with the Spider Tattoo (#373)
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If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
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Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
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