The teaching of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus (55-135) was oral. His disciple Flavius ​​Arrian wrote part of his Enchiridion and Dissertations lessons. One of the Spanish translations of the first of these books is called Manual de vida (Taurus, 2023) A short text with Epictetus’ advice for leading a happy life in the Stoic way. There is a vision of the human being that is reflected in the text. It is about handling oneself in life with moderation, using reason as the one who points the way, the measure to conduct oneself properly in the vicissitudes of the human narrative. To this end, Epictetus’ advice helps to take life -we would say- philosophically, without bitterness or existential excesses.  A kind of healthy life, healthy food, and without gratuitous agitations.

Our philosopher says that there are things that depend on one’s own will and there are things that escape our control. The golden rule is clear: put effort into what you can control and what is your own. “Remember – he says – that if you consider things that are slaves by nature to be free and those that are others’ as your own, you will be impeded, you will cry, you will be worried, you will complain about gods and men. But if you believe that only what is yours is yours and that what is others’ is yours, (…) no one will cause you harm, you will have no enemies. and you will not suffer any calamity” (p. 9). The reasoning is correct: concentrate on what depends on you, and you will avoid harm from third parties.

Like this, there are many more pieces of advice from Epictetus to lead a life without alterations. Reason is in charge of pointing out what is convenient and also, of indicating how absurd it is to worry or take to heart situations that are not in our hands to control. “If you flee then, only from undesirable things that depend on your will, you will not fall into any of those you want to avoid. But, if you try to flee from illness, death, poverty, you will be unhappy (p. 12).” The lesson is clear. Do what is within your will and availability. Accept what is presented to you as a fact, because its occurrence does not depend on you. Clear and simple rules to go through life serenely, without anger, without irritation. The goal is impassivity, a kind of Yoda, serene, wise, without ups and downs. Tremors or storms may come. The impassive Stoic Epictetus would not be upset: if it is not in his hands to avoid these events of nature, why worry? Why should he lose peace?

Brilliant successes of Epictetus to undertake life projects that take into account, from the beginning, what is given and received; as well as personal skills that open up alternatives within our reach. This sense of reality helps us not to build castles in the air, nor to blame others for our shortcomings. But, as I continue to mull over our author’s proposal, I do not realize that he is talking about a person of those who walk the streets, bustling from here to there, in intertwined and even tangled biographies.

Reaching this equanimity does not seem attainable to me, nor even desirable. This attitude of a surgeon, capable of cutting, separating, impeccably saturating the reasonable, the volitional and the affective does not seem human to me. I agree with taking things calmly, avoiding irritating passions and ensuring that objectivity is not lost due to biases that distort reality. However, to aspire to this goal of imperturbability by configuring a human being without blood in the veins, without a nervous system, without affections, without ties, without love seems to me to be a reductionist anthropological proposal. Impassibility is not a goal in life.