Un “cas clinique” chez Épictète : l’obstination. Une lecture d’'Entretiens' 2, 15

Abstract

Taking note of the analogy proposed by Chrysippus between medicine and philosophy, I would like to use the study of chapter 15 of book 2 of Epictetus' Diatribai to show how it exposes what can be likened to a "clinical case". This means betting on the blurred polysemy of a term ("clinical") that is rarely found in ancient writings (klinikos/klinikê) and whose current meanings can nevertheless open up new avenues for reading texts that cannot be limited to a parenetic function, aiming at the moral "transformation" of disciples. In sum, I would like to question the prevalent use of a "school model" of reading, by proposing, in order to understand certain Stoic texts, a model attentive to a praxis that refers at least as much to care as to philosophical training.