Other Definitions
stoicism (dict)
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StoicismStoicism is a school of philosophy which teaches an independence from pleasure or pain by allowing oneself to be guided by reason and virtue. It is associated with such Greek philosophers as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus, and with later Roman writers such as Cicero, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. History Stoicism appeared in Athens c.310 BCE. It was introduced by Zeno of Citium, who taught in stoa poikile (the painted stoa) in Athens, from which his school gained its name. His ideas developed from those of the Cynics, whose founder, Antisthenes, had been a disciple of Socrates. Zeno's most important follower was Chrysippus, who in fact was responsible for much of what we now call Stoicism. The Stoics provided a unified account of the world, consisting of formal logic, materialistic physics, and naturalistic ethics. Of these, they emphasized ethics as the main focus of human knowledge, though their logical theories were to be of more interest for many later philosophers. Later Roman Stoics focussed more on the development of recommendations for living in harmony with the universe, over which one has no direct control. Stoic ethics The foundation of Stoic ethics is the principle, proclaimed earlier by the Cynics, that good lies in the state of the soul itself, in wisdom, self-control and restraint. Stoic ethics stressed the rule: "Follow where reason leads." One must therefore strive to be free of the passions (hate, fear, pain, pleasure, distress, apetite, etc.). However, passion for the Stoics meant in the ancient sense; anguish or sufferinghttp://www.bartleby.com/61/87/P0098700.html, rather the modern sense of passion as "intense emotion." The Stoics sought to be free of passion (suffering) by cultivating apatheia or apathy — but the ancient sense of this word was also different than it is today. Instead of "a lack of concern or energy," Stoic apatheia was more like objectivity: emotional distance and clear judgement. The Stoic concepts of passion and apatheia are analogous to Buddhist concepts of suffering and non-attachment. The term "Stoic" itself has come to mean "unemotional," but for the Stoics, the aim was not to extinguish emotions, simply to avoid being ruined or ruled by them. Living according to reason and virtue, they held, is to live in conformity with the divine order of the universe, which is constantly recycling itself, and in recognition of the common reason and inherent value of all people. The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, a classification derived from the teachings of Plato. Spiritual exercise Stoicism was not just a set of beliefs, it was about disciplined practice and training (or askesis, from which the term ascetic derives), such as Socratic dialogue (with the self or others), regular contemplation of death or philosohical problems, training in concentration (attention the present moment), daily reflection on the problems and solutions of life, and so on. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius defines several such practices. For example, in Book II, part 1: - "Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitible men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill... I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together..."
Aurelius is not just making a statement here, but giving the reader a practical technique: Say to yourself in the early morning... In other words, remind yourself every day, again and again, about the problems you face, and how to solve them. Philosophy for a Stoic was an active process of constant practice and self-reminder. Stoic physics The Stoics held Logos to be the animating or 'active principle' of all reality. The Logos was conceived as a conduit for divine power that, in essence, orders and directs the universe. Human reason and the human soul were both considered adjuncts of the Logos, and therefore immortal. Brotherhood A distinctive feature of Stoicism is its cosmopolitanism. All people are manifestations of the one universal spirit and should, according to the Stoics, live in brotherly love and readily help one another. They held that external differences such as rank and wealth are of no importance in social relationships. Thus, before the rise of Christianity, Stoics recognized and advocated the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings. Stoicism became the most influential school of the Graeco–Roman world, and produced a number of remarkable writers and personalities. Quotations “Wherever I go, it will be well with me.” (Epictetus) "The universe is change, life is opinion." (Marcus Aurelius) "Get rid of the judgement ... get rid of the 'I am hurt,' you are rid of the hurt itself." (Marcus Aurelius) Books - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.
- Moses Hadas (ed.), Essential Works of Stoicism (1961: Bantam)
- Lawrence Becker, A New Stoicism (1999) ISBN 0691009643
- Steven Strange (ed.), Stoicism: Traditions and Transformations (2004) ISBN 0521827094
- Seneca the Younger (transl. Robin Campbell), Letters from a Stoic: Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium (2004) ISBN 0140442103
- Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Blackwell, 2995
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