← Glossary

Diatribē (as Inner Interrogation)

The Stoic practice of inner questioning dialogue, in which one interrogates oneself under pressure — as a teacher questions a student — refusing to accept shallow or self-serving answers.

While diatribē originally referred to Epictetus's oral discourses, in this context the term denotes the method of relentless self-interrogation: like a teacher unsatisfied with superficial answers, one repeatedly poses the question "What would a wise person do?" and refuses to accept comfortable, self-righteous responses.