Home › Glossary › Letter E

Epimeleia

Philosophy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Careful cultivation of the self through reflective and ethical practices.

Detailed Definition
In a poem, epimeleia can appear as attention to how a speaker forms a life rather than merely reports experience. Journaling, silence, study, bodily discipline, and recollection may become poetic actions through which the self is examined and reshaped. The term does not imply private self-absorption; classical philosophy links care of the self to responsibility toward others and the community. A poem of epimeleia therefore treats style as a practice of ethical self-making.
Example
Example in poetry:
Epimeleia, or care of the self, names an ethical practice of shaping one’s life through reflection and discipline; A poem may portray journaling, meditation, or study as practices through which the speaker becomes responsible to self and others; In Marcus Aurelius’s philosophical writing, self-examination turns daily experience into ethical training that poets can imitate; A lyric that asks how the speaker should live, rather than merely what the speaker feels, enacts epimeleia
Additional Notes
Epimeleia, often translated as care of the self, names an active practice of shaping one’s conduct, attention, and relation to truth. In classical and later philosophy, it may involve examination, discipline, dialogue, and ethical exercises. It is not selfish withdrawal but preparation for responsible participation with others.
Also Known As
Care of the Self Self-Care
Skip to main content