Epictetus is one of the most important representatives of the Stoic philosophical school and was active during the first two centuries AD. Unlike the previous representatives of this school (such as Zeno and Chrysippus), he does not deal with issues related to cosmology and formal logic, and his interests lie in the field of Moral Philosophy. We could argue that in a way he brings back to the forefront the method by which Socrates operated, who did not follow the tradition of the Pre-Socratics and shifted philosophical inquiries from the field of nature to that of ethics and political action. Studying his texts leads us to the conclusion that he is thoroughly concerned with how the acting subject can achieve a responsible personal life independent of the surrounding social conditions. Therefore, we would not be outside theoretical legitimacy if we claimed that his thought aims to construct a philosophy of the subject that meticulously attends to its internal quality and attempts to construct its personal world of interests with the appropriate integrity. 

Whether Epictetus can be characterized as the philosopher of personal self-sufficiency is a question that does not lend itself to an easy answer at first glance. With the following brief points, we will attempt to move towards an answer that is as objective as possible, without, however, the certainty of an exact scientific conclusion, as he sometimes inscribes the details of normative principles in abstention and sometimes in participation, in an era when individual and collective self-determinations belong to the realm of the imaginary and utopia, far from the glorious achievements of the past.

This Stoic philosopher of the Hellenistic cultural period, as well as the politically-state-defined Roman Empire, argues that situations beyond the reach of our capabilities and controls should be placed on the periphery of our interests and that it is not necessary to rush to conquer them cognitively to a particularly advanced degree.