Examples of Philosophical Guidance from Epictetus

Abstract

There are three main pillars that guide services aimed at humans: psychology, sociology, and philosophy. However, almost all fields of knowledge and humanities that address human beings and society in general are among its sources. Philosophy, as one of the knowledge fields forming the basis of guidance services, can be regarded as a form of philosophical guidance service if it is conducted as a thought and action activity closely tied to real life. Based on this idea, philosophers began considering by the 1980s that they could offer "Philosophical Guidance" services. According to Lahav, one of the first advocates of this idea, philosophy's practical function in life today emerges as philosophical guidance. This is because the activity we call philosophical guidance is by no means separate from a philosophical life or philosophical culture. In this sense, the article will first provide a preliminary evaluation to closely examine the concepts of guidance and counseling in general. Subsequently, the philosophy of Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher of the Roman era, will be presented as an example of philosophical guidance. The deliberate choice to use the term "guidance" instead of "counseling" or "therapy" in the article is noteworthy. This is because, technically speaking, guidance, which involves merely providing information without imposing any solutions and without acting as a specialized consultant to resolve a problem, aligns more closely with the spirit of philosophy than counseling or therapy services.