Word: epictetus
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has become popular only in recent years. It traces its remote origins in part to the teachings of a Greek philosopher, Epictetus, a former slave who developed a science of happiness. Perhaps the best-known expression of Epictetus' philosophy is the Serenity Prayer, attributed to the Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous: "God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference...
...Harvard, however, deserves something of a defense. Wolfe's A Man in Full makes extensive reference to stoic philosophers such as Epictetus, whose writings emboldened James Stockdale during his imprisonment. Given the choice between humiliation and death, which should one choose? Humiliation for you, death for me, responds the stoic, because you would even consider the question. The stoics--the ultimate men--never allow their wills to be affected by the world around them. They do as they please, regardless of consequences. This obviously constitutes not only strength of character but also insanity...