greek-ethicsfeatured in 30 works

The Dichotomy of Control

Some things are up to us and some are not — and peace begins with knowing the difference.

The dichotomy of control is the Stoic teaching that our own judgments, desires, and choices are 'up to us' (eph' hēmin), while externals — health, reputation, wealth, the actions of others — are not, so we should invest our concern only in what we can govern. It is the opening lesson of the Enchiridion by Epictetus, a 1st–2nd century CE freed slave turned teacher, and the practical heart of Stoic serenity. The idea still echoes today in cognitive therapy and the 'serenity prayer.'

How it traveled

Nicomachean Ethics
Chalcis · -322
explains
Eudemian Ethics
Chalcis · -322
explains
Magna Moralia
Chalcis · -322
explains
Paradoxa Stoicorum
Formiae · -46
explains
De Fato
Formiae · -43
explains
Tusculanae Disputationes
Formiae · -43
explains
De consolatione ad Helviam
— · 42
explains
Discourses
Nicopolis · 108
explains
De Fato
Chaeronea · 120
explains
Fragments
Nicopolis · 135
explains
The Handbook
Nicopolis · 135
explains
Ad Se Ipsum
Vindobona (Vienna) · 170
explains
Adversus Mathematicos
Alexandria · 190
explains
Vitae philosophorum
— · 240
explains
Enneades
Rome · 270
explains
Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot
Tiberias · 400
Berakhot
Sura (Babylonia) · 500
Kiddushin
Sura (Babylonia) · 500
Shabbat
Sura (Babylonia) · 500
Bava Batra
Sura (Babylonia) · 500
Midrash Tanchuma
Tiberias · 600
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
Tiberias · 600
Duties of the Heart
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1080
Mishneh Torah, Repentance
Fostat (Old Cairo) · 1180
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah
Tiberias · 1250
Yalkut Shimoni on Nach
Tiberias · 1250
Zohar
Guadalajara · 1280
Tikkunei Zohar
Guadalajara · 1280
Sefer HaIkkarim
Soria · 1425
Akeidat Yitzchak
Tarragona · 1490

Key passages(20)

Epictetus, The Handbook 1↗explains

The Handbook · Epictetus