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This 3 page paper takes Epictetus’s assertions about secrets as a springboard for a discussion of the limits of human freedom. Bibliography lists 1 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KV32_HVshrsec.rtf
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the limits of human freedom. Discussion Epictetus says that people often tell secrets for no other reason than that someone confided in them. That is, Marcus sits down and tells
Cassius his deepest secrets, and Cassius responds, not because of any great trust he has in Marcuss intelligence, discretion or reliability, but because Marcus "spilled his guts" first (Epictetus, 1916).
Cassiuss response is prompted by the fear that Marcus will feel Cassius doesnt trust him unless he reciprocated by sharing confidences (Epictetus, 1916). That thinking is backwards, says Epictetus, who
believes the reason for one person to confide in another is that the first has shown himself to be "trustworthy, self-respecting, safe"; that he is a person whose judgments "are
those of a friend" and whose thinking is sound (Epictetus, 1916). In those circumstances, "I will not wait for you to confide your affairs to me, but will come to
you myself and ask you to hear mine" (Epictetus, 1916). In other words, Cassius would confide in Marcus because he trusted him, not because Marcus spoke first. Thus, the
basis for telling someone a secret is the absolutely knowledge that the other person will keep that secret (meaning he will tell no one else, ever); that he has the
strength of character to keep the trust placed in him; and that he will deal kindly and justly with the other person. This means that he is also an extremely
rare individual. But in the end, we demonstrate our freedom as humans by deciding whether or not to confide our secrets to someone else. What does this mean for the
idea of human freedom and its limits? This is a very interesting question because it considers what is meant by human freedom. Is it the freedom for humans to do
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