Stoicism

Philosopher

2022

We explain what Stoicism is in philosophy, its principles and representatives. Also, what is it in everyday life.

Stoicism was founded by Zeno in Greece and later spread to Rome.

What is Stoicism?

Stoicism is a philosophical school founded in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. C. This philosophical current proposes a vision of the world in which everything can be thought through a personal ethic, based on a logical system and on a law of relation of cause effect. Thus, the universe whole is structured in a rational and understandable way, even in cases where Humans we fail to visualize and understand such structure.

The ancient Stoics held that while we can't control what happens in the universe around us, we can control how we think about it.

Thus, according to his doctrine, human beings must cultivate a disciplined, self-controlled and tolerant way of being, using courage and reason. Through this path, a certain virtuous harmony can be achieved, the only path to true happiness.

History, origin and etymology of the term “stoicism”

Stoicism was one of the philosophical schools of Ancient Greece, founded in Athens during the third century BC. C. by Zeno de Citio (336-264 BC), a philosopher of Phoenician origin who was nicknamed at the time as "the Stoic". Among his most famous disciples we find Cleanthes of Asus (330 to 300-232 BC), who was his successor, and Chrysippus of Solos (281-208 BC), a disciple of Cleanthes and important figure of the Stoic school.

Originally known as Zenonism, the movement of the Stoics or Stoikós (Στωϊκός) takes its name from the term Stoa Poikile or “painted porch” (in ancient Greek ἡ ποικίλη στοά). The Stoa Poikile it was a porch located to the east of the Agora of Athens, adorned with scenes of mythical and historical battles. That is where Zeno met with his disciples, and for this reason they are known as Stoics.

Stoicism was very successful in ancient Greece. Three phases are generally recognized: Old, Middle and New Stoicism. After its beginnings in Athens, it spread to other Mediterranean populations, especially in the Roman Republic. There the so-called Roman Stoicism was conceived, whose representatives are Panecio, Posidonius, Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. These authors were even better known than the Greek Stoics themselves. More works of Roman Stoicism are preserved than of Greek.

Stoicism resurfaced in the sixteenth century, and its doctrine was combined with different elements of the Christianity, under the name of neo-stoicism. Its founder was the Belgian humanist Justo Lipsio (1547-1606). In 1584 he published his best-known work, of constantia, with which he introduced the bases of the renewal of Stoicism.

Both classical and Christian Stoicism had a great influence on the thinking of several important philosophers of modernity. This can be seen especially in the work of I. Kant, G. Leibniz, B. Spinoza, A. Smith and even J-J. Rousseau.

Principles of Stoic philosophy

The foundations of Stoicism can be summarized in the following points:

  • The main motto of the Stoics is that "the virtue is the highest good” or “virtue is the only good”. This means that the human being must aspire to inner virtue, understanding that external elements such as money, the success, the Health or the pleasure they are neither good nor bad in themselves, and human beings should not confuse them with what is truly important: for the Stoics, wisdom is the fundamental condition of all goods. They consider happiness, knowledge and virtue to be one and the same thing. In the strict sense, the goods, misused or well used, must be unconditional goods, and only virtue, understood as knowledge, qualifies as an unconditional good.
  • The Stoic spirit must be calm, self-controlled and disciplined, whether facing misfortune or good fortune. Only this attitude of indifference can lead to freedom and the tranquility. The Stoics thought thus to achieve imperturbability, that is, ataraxia, the maximum state sought.
  • According to the Stoics, the human being must imitate the universe in its balance, governed by its inner nature and not by the distractions of the world. They held that certain errors of judgment (that is, errors of thought) can engender emotions harmful, and for this reason the human being must maintain his will as much as possible according to nature, accepting things as they appear, renouncing desire, fear and ambition.
  • For the Stoics, the measure of the nature of the human being can be observed not in the things that are said, but in the way in which they act. Therefore, human beings are all equal and are part of the same great family, as citizens of the world. It was, therefore, a very cosmopolitan philosophical school.
  • The luck and chance do not exist, but causality: everything is a consequence of something else, even if we do not know what or cannot understand it.

The four great virtues of the Stoics

The Stoics considered the following points to be great virtues:

  • The knowledge practical, which allows you to handle challenging situations with a calm head.
  • The temperance, to moderate and control the seduction of everyday pleasures.
  • The Justice, which must be exercised even in the case of receiving injustice from others.
  • The courage, both in extreme situations and in everyday life, to maintain clarity and integrity.

Stoic ethics

The ethics It was one of the great philosophical problems dealt with by the Stoics. The relevance of ethical issues and problems was in almost direct dialogue with what was said by Socrates, Plato and even Aristotle.
Some of these ethical issues are:

  • The explanation of the internal irrationality of the action.
  • The problems that accompany a lack of education in the dispositions of the character.
  • Virtue, moral progress and individual responsibility.
  • The due acts and the truly correct according to a strict morality.
  • Happiness as the ultimate goal of human life.
  • Emotional states and the consequences of carrying out a certain course of action while in a certain emotional state.
  • The place we should give to emotional states in the plan of a good life, etc.

Main representatives of Stoicism

Seneca was one of the greatest exponents of Roman Stoicism.

The main names associated with Stoicism in antiquity were the following:

  • Zeno of Citium (336-264 BC). Founder of Stoicism born in Citium, Cyprus, he was a disciple of Polemon, Crates of Thebes and Stilpon of Megara. He initially became interested in the school of the cynicism, but later his personal doctrines founded the basis of the philosophical school. His works have been lost in time, so that we hardly have scattered fragments and mentions in third-party works.
  • Cleanthes of Asus (330-232 BC). Main disciple of Zeno and his successor in charge of the Stoic school, he had a humble origin until he joined the philosophical school of the Portico, as the Stoics were then called, and after the death of the master of he ended up directing it. He did until he died at 99 years of age.
  • Chrysippus of Solos (281-208 BC).Considered the "second founder" of Greek Stoicism, he was its most emblematic and important figure, as well as the father of Greek grammar in ancient times. He was a disciple of Cleanthes and is said to have attended the Platonic Academy as well.
  • Seneca the Younger (4 BC-65 AD). Philosopher, politician and writer, he was an important figure in Roman politics during the reigns of Claudius and Nero. He was one of the greatest exponents of Roman Stoicism, so much so that his work is the main source of knowledge about Stoic doctrine that is preserved today. His influence on later thinkers, both Christian and Renaissance, was enormous, along with Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius.
  • Epictetus (55-135 AD). Greek philosopher of the Stoic school, he lived a good part of his life in Rome, as a slave. He was the founder of his own school in Nicopolis and his doctrine imitated that of Socrates, so that he did not leave any written work. His thought is preserved thanks to his disciple, Flavio Arriano.

What does it mean today to be stoic?

Today we understand by the adjectives "stoic" or "stoic" a synonym of "calm" and "cool head", that is, an attitude of self-control and resistance to human passions.

Thus, when we say that someone took bad news “stoically”, we mean that he reacted with integrity, without giving in to pain. The same can be applied to situations of happiness, tension or any emotion human.

For example, if we imagine that someone wins the lottery, and communicates it calmly, we say that he did it with “absolute stoicism”. We can think the same of those who have to make big decisions and manage to do so with integrity and rationality, without being carried away by emotions.

Examples of Stoicism in Everyday Life

Here are some examples of everyday life events stoically traversed:

  • A breakup, taken stoically, does not mean that it will not hurt or make us suffer, but rather that we will experience it trying to think as rationally as possible at all times and not in impulsive terms, typical of emotion and pain.
  • Winning a highly desired prize, being stoic, does not mean that we will not feel joy or that we will completely repress it, but that we will live it knowing that it is a passing feeling and that it cannot push us to make certain decisions or act in a certain way. way. Even in joy you have to keep your mind clear. The Stoic will no doubt celebrate his victory, but not to the point of pawning it off with absurd actions.
  • Participating in a party, for the Stoics, is an exercise in full moderation. Pleasures and desire are useful and welcome only when they lead to transcendent virtue, the rest serve to distract us from the path. Therefore, a Stoic will only enjoy what is fair, without overdoing it or losing control.

Stoicism, Epicureanism and Skepticism

We must not confuse Stoicism, the doctrine of rational measure and ataraxia, with other philosophical currents such as Epicureanism and skepticism, for example.

  • Epicureanism. Of Greek origin, in ancient times (like Stoicism) it is a philosophical doctrine that can be inscribed in the hedonism, that is, in the pursuit of pleasure as the only transcendent good. But unlike other hedonistic schools, the doctrine created by Epicurus of Samos around 307 BC. C. proposed seeking pleasure through a state similar to the ataraxia of the Stoics: the absence of pain and fear, as well as the absence of physical pain (the apone). This state was attainable through modest and sustainable pleasures, simple living, and knowledge of the workings of the world. Epicureanism was a rival doctrine to Platonism and later Stoicism, and existed until the 3rd century AD. c.
  • skepticism. It is a philosophical current that affirms the impossibility of knowing the TRUE, or even the existence of a truth to know. Founded in Greek antiquity by the philosopher Pirrón (365-275 BC), its initial maxim was that a philosopher should give an opinion, not affirm anything, since nothing in the background could be known for sure. Doubt and suspension of judgment (epojé) were the fundamental principles of this philosophical school.
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