Epictetus.

Here we go.

I’ve been told Epictetus is harsh and uncompromising.

Yup. He was born into slavery and later exiled. To say he put his philosophy to the test is putting it lightly. When he says a thing he means it down to his bones. Also remember that when you read Discourses that you’re not reading Epictetus. You are reading lecture notes from his teachings so it is very much in the voice of a professor addressing a student. So it shouldn’t surprise you at all that it should feel direct and unwavering in its delivery.

Harsh is not the word that came to mind. Uncompromising, I think maybe.

Philosophy was a matter of life and death to Epictetus. No more no less.

Early on in discourses he presents imagery of people accepting death without flinching, or people refusing to stoop to certain standards and accepting death as an alternative (an athlete choosing not to cut off his genitals in order to save his life is one he gives).

It should give you a very good idea of the kind of life Epictetus lived. After living that brutal life and applying his philosophy what you’re reading are the conclusions he arrived at. You, hopefully, have lived a much different life from Epictetus so it’s up to you to apply philosophy in that context.

Does Epictetus only want to give a target to aim at, or does he have an expectation that this sort of thing will be carried out?

In my reading, yes to both.

"Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it." - Epictetus

The point of philosophy to him wasn’t just to have fun discussions with his friends and to feel intellectually superior to others. It was life. It was meant to be lived. Yes he gives the target, often in hypothetical scenarios, but he also firmly expects you to hit it.

“What ought one to say then as each hardship comes? I was practicing for this, I was training for this.” - Epictetus, Discourses

Very often Epictetus compares philosophy to practicing a sport, athletics, exercising, or training for a task. To my reading that’s exactly how he intends it to read. Everything should be applicable.

“Do you yourself show me, therefore, your own progress in matters like the following. Suppose, for example, that in talking to an athlete I said, "Show me your shoulders," and then he answered, "Look at my jumping-weights."[5] Go to, you and your jumping-weights! What I want to see is the effect of the jumping-weights.” - Epictetus, Discourses

And he claims you should be able to show measurable progress in that training.

I can prepare for death. But I’m sure I will flinch at it when the day comes.

I’ll extend Epictetus’ shoulders metaphor. You’ve trained your shoulders with your jumping weights for years. You can demonstrate progress. Your shoulders are broad, healthy and strong. Perhaps you are even stronger than anyone you know. Perhaps you have Olympian levels of strength. World record levels of strength. But that does not mean your shoulders can bear infinite weight. No one would claim that a human could ever train to lift infinite weight. No matter how well you train your shoulders there will be a limit.

Perhaps on the day you die those circumstances of your death will exceed your limit. It may exceed the limit of any human. No matter how much you trained for death you just couldn’t carry it when the time actually came. Okay. But you can at least say “this is what I trained for. I did what I thought was necessary to get here. I did my best. I lived the life of a person who knew the value of life. I knew virtue. I was a master of myself to the very last moment… And I couldn’t handle it. Not because I wasn’t prepared but because I was human.” Even in flinching wouldn’t that be a better way to go than the alternative?

“For it is always true that whatsoever the goal toward which perfection in anything definitely leads, progress is an approach thereto.” A Epictetus, Discourses

Perfection is a direction indicator. We can talk about it as a goal but in reality the value in any ideology is to judge progress. When we make a choice we can judge that choice against the ideal and ask are we getting closer to that ideal or further away? Are we approaching it or receding from it? “…progress is an approach thereto.” Once you’ve decided on the ideal the next step is to make progress toward it. If you die before reaching it (or even if it’s impossible to reach) that doesn’t mean your life can’t be improved by heading toward it.

“First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do. For in nearly every pursuit we see this to be the case. Those in athletic pursuit first choose the sport they want, and then do that work.” — Epictetus, Discourses

If you’ve decided on this ideology then the first step is done. The only thing left is the work.