How Should One Face Death Be Controlled By Humans

According to Epictetus, how should one face death – both one’s own death and the death of people close to you? Compare and contrast this attitude with the attitude of another figure we have studied in the course (e.g., Hector, Achilles, Antigone, Socrates). Do you accept either of these attitudes? Why In his handbook, Epictetus asserts that the gods created a perfectly just universe. Humans must align their beliefs with the wills of the gods and acquiesce to whatever happens in the world. In order to live a life of equanimity, Epictetus believes that people must understand that life is a fragile and temporary gift from the gods and that death must be recognized as inevitable. In the Iliad, Hector and Achilles’ attitudes to death†¦show more content†¦Epictetus affirms that people must trust the gods’ judgment in establishing a well and just universe. People must understand that death, like the rest of the universe’s events, is a deliberate element of the gods’ world. Therefore, people â€Å"should want [events] to happen as they do happen, and [their] life will go well† (Epictetus, 13). When people shape their perception of death in accordance with the gods’ wills, they are able to maintain equanimity. On the other hand, Epictet us argues, â€Å"If [people] are averse to illness or death or poverty, [they] will meet misfortune. So [people must] detach [their] aversion from everything not up to [them] (Epictetus, 12). People must not dwell on uncontrollable courses of events, like death, because it places their wills in opposition to the will of the gods, resulting in suffering. However, when people accept that death is an intentional aspect of the gods’ immaculate set up of the universe, they bring their wills in agreement with the gods’ wills and may live with composure. In addition, Epictetus argues that people must remember that human life in the gods’ well and just universe is a transitory gift from the gods, which justifies its preordained revocation—death. In other words, as long as life is given to humans by the gods, people must â€Å"take care of it as something that is not [their] own, just as