GRICE ED EPITTETO

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Grice e Epitetto: la ragione conversazionale -- Roman slave – filosofia italiana (Roma). Filosofo italiano. Upon freedom, he studied philosophy under Musonio Rufo, but he was expelled from Rome under Domiziano. For some reason, the emperor Antonino took a liking to his mode of philosophising, even though, of course, due to their different classes, they never met in the flesh. Epitetto. Grice, “Grice ed Epitetto. do we know where Epictetus was born? Yes — here we are on firm ground historically. Epictetus was (almost certainly) born at Hierapolis in Phrygia, a city in Asia Minor (modern-day Pamukkale in western Turkey). [britannica.com], [en.wikipedia.org] More precisely:  he was born into slavery, probably around the middle of the 1st century AD his birthplace is given in the sources as Hierapolis in Phrygia [en.wikipedia.org] that city was a Greek-speaking urban center under Roman rule [dcc.dickinson.edu]   What this means (philosophically and “Romanly”) This is quite important for your Grice–Speranza picture. 1. He is not “Roman” in origin  not born in Rome not Italian not of any Roman gens  He is:  a provincial Greek-speaking slave later living and teaching in the Roman imperial system  So your entry “filosofo italiano (Roma)” is, strictly speaking, poetically Roman, not literally true.  2. His very name encodes his status “Epictetus” (ἐπίκτητος) means: → “acquired,” “property,” “one who is obtained” That is:  not a birth name but a slave designation  So before any philosophy, he is already:  an object of ownership   3. The trajectory (very Roman, but inverted) His movement is almost the inverse of the aristocratic Romans you’ve been discussing:  born in the provinces → brought to Rome as a slave studies under Musonius Rufus → gains intellectual formation expelled from Rome → founds school at Nicopolis  So: Fannius → begins aristocrat, uses philosophy in politics Epictetus → begins slave, turns life into philosophy  A small Gricean reflection (since you will like this) Epictetus’s birthplace matters for how he understands agency. He begins as:  one whose actions are not his own (legally speaking)  And ends by insisting:  only one thing is truly ours — our will (prohairesis)  You can read this almost as a philosophical transmutation of his biography:  from being literally “acquired” to discovering an inner sphere beyond acquisition   One compact Speranza-style sentence Epictetus, born a slave at Hierapolis in Phrygia, enters Roman intellectual life from outside both the city and its gentilician structures; and his philosophy can be read as a radical internalisation of agency, whereby a man whose very name marks him as “acquired” reconstructs freedom not in external status but in the governance of assent, thus providing a striking counterpoint to the Roman aristocrats whose freedom is political yet whose speech remains constrained by public consequence.  If you like, I can now connect Epictetus directly back to your earlier thread on Musonius and the Flavian expulsions, where the “philosopher vs state” tension becomes sharp.