Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
ShareThis
Javascript must be enabled to continue!

Reassessing Epictetus’ Opinion of Divination

View through CrossRef
AbstractIn recent years substantial effort has been expended by scholars to better understand the nature of the ancient interest in divination. This study will argue that the Stoic philosopher Epictetus’ views of divination have been largely overlooked and mistakenly defined by his modern interpreters. While often portrayed as being opposed to the art, it is proposed that he envisages divination can be beneficially employed: namely in highlighting certain moral actions, and in motivating individuals to commence philosophical study.
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Title: Reassessing Epictetus’ Opinion of Divination
Description:
AbstractIn recent years substantial effort has been expended by scholars to better understand the nature of the ancient interest in divination.
This study will argue that the Stoic philosopher Epictetus’ views of divination have been largely overlooked and mistakenly defined by his modern interpreters.
While often portrayed as being opposed to the art, it is proposed that he envisages divination can be beneficially employed: namely in highlighting certain moral actions, and in motivating individuals to commence philosophical study.

Related Results

Divination and Ontologies
Divination and Ontologies
The way types of divination move round the planet means it is not helpful to simply attribute one unitary ontology to specific techniques or to groups of practitioners. Explaining ...
Formulaic Structure of Chu Divinatory Bamboo Slips
Formulaic Structure of Chu Divinatory Bamboo Slips
In recent decades, divination records written on bamboo slips have been discovered at such sites as Wangshan, Tianxingguan and Baoshan, all in Hubei province. These slips derive fr...
Imaginal research for unlearning mastery: Divination with tarot as decolonizing methodology
Imaginal research for unlearning mastery: Divination with tarot as decolonizing methodology
AbstractTarot use has become increasingly popular in contemporary society. However, unlike the position afforded divination in some cultures, it is not culturally consecrated as a ...
Cicero Defining the Stoic Science of Divination
Cicero Defining the Stoic Science of Divination
AbstractThis paper is devoted to the Stoic definition of divination as reported by Cicero. It proposes a novel reading that coherently combines the distinct versions offered inDe d...
Framing Divination: A Mande Divination Expert and The Occult Economy
Framing Divination: A Mande Divination Expert and The Occult Economy
This essay describes the skills of a sand divination expert in Mali through consideration of his expert performance. By relating the description of the expert to Goffman's sociolog...
Introduction
Introduction
Many divination systems are epistemologically justified according to an explicit ontology: results are attributed to the work of an agent (gods, spirits) or to a cosmic principle (...
Inquiry as Divination
Inquiry as Divination
The article proposes divination as a speculative method for inquiry, drawing primarily on the work of Deleuze. Divinatory practices would be diagrammatic, ambulant, cryptic, affirm...
Prediction and divination in Diodorus
Prediction and divination in Diodorus
Federico Santangelo, Prédiction et divination chez Diodore, DHA 33/2, 2007, 115-126. Résumé : Cet article est une discussion sur l'approche qu'a Diodore de la prédiction et d...

Back to Top