Epictetus is one of the most important representatives of the philosophical school of Stoicism and was active during the first two centuries AD. However, unlike 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 Ethics Philosophy. We could argue that in a way he brings back the way in which Socrates had engaged, who did not follow the tradition of the Pre-Socratics and transferred philosophical inquiries from the field of nature to that of ethics and political action. By studying his texts, we come to the conclusion that he thoroughly deals with how the acting subject will manage to shape a responsible personal life independent of the surrounding social conditions. Therefore, we would not be outside theoretical legitimacy if we argued that his reflection aims to establish a philosophy of the subject that carefully takes care of its inner quality and attempts to construct in an integral way its personal world of interests.

Whether Epictetus can be characterized as the philosopher of personal self-sufficiency is a question that does not secure an easy answer at first glance. With the following brief points, we will attempt to move towards an answer, as far as possible, objective but without the certainty of an exact scientific conclusion, since he himself writes the details of the regulatory principles sometimes in abstinence and sometimes in participation, in an era where individual and collective self-definitions belong to the constellation 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-defined period by the Roman Empire, argues that situations beyond the scope of our abilities and controls should be placed on the sidelines of our interests and that it is not necessary to rush to conquer them cognitively to an exceptionally advanced degree.