Will I love The Role Ethics of Epictetus?

I really like how this book shows both the importance of roles in Epictetus’s Stoicism and the originality of Epictetus’s version of role ethics.

With great clarity, originality, and graceful exposition, it offers a penetrating analysis of an often-ambiguous text. Johnson’s engaging and patient exposition and meticulous cross-referencing are terrific. Johnson offers a first-rate analysis of Stoic logic within the ethical domain, and his comparison with Cicero’s De Officiis is insightful and careful.

I trust this fine work as an effective guide to Epictetus, particularly in navigating the challenges of an unsystematic and elliptical source text.

One of the most common types of questions I hear about Stoicism concerns what “the Stoic thing to do” is. In a certain situation, is it more Stoic to do X or Y? Johnson’s book does a masterful job of unearthing Epictetus’s theory of role ethics so that you can answer this question for yourself. By thinking about your roles in life, you can deduce the appropriate action in many circumstances. And what’s appropriate depends on who you are and what your role in the situation is. My personal Stoic practice owes a lot to Johnson’s work—while the book is… show more.