Stoic philosophy

By: Stephen Hanselman [1] If You Want a Smooth Flow of Life, Live According to Nature euroia biou) comes from “living in agreement with nature.” It was the second leader of te phusei; or “according to,” kata phusin). kathekon) as a central concern, our obligation to act appropriately in our given roles in family and society, and it was no accident that as a consequence he taught that we were obligated to participate in public life until we are unable. daimon, an inner genius or purpose, that connects us to the universal nature. Those who live by keeping the individual and universal natures in harmony are happy, and those who don’t are not. The disjunction of these two natures is a root source of human misery and not how we are meant to live. So, how do we avoid this disjunction? [2] Happiness Isn’t Found in Things, but in Virtue Alone – It’s All About What We Value and the Choices We Make The early Stoics often disagreed about many particulars, but they all agreed that for human beings the happy life was to be found only in the pursuit of sophrosune), courage ( andreia), justice ( dikaiosune), and practical wisdom ( phronesis). Simply put, for human beings, Arius Didymus, who served as one of two close [*] phronesis) is the knowledge of what things must be done and what must not be done and what is neither, and leads us to appropriate acts ( kathekonta). Within wisdom, we’ll find virtuous qualities like soundness of judgment, circumspection, shrewdness, sensibleness, sound...

The second century CE Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was also a Stoic philosopher, and his Meditations, which he wrote to and for himself, offers readers a unique opportunity to see how an ancient person (indeed an emperor) might try to live a Stoic life, according to which only virtue is good, only vice is bad, and the things which we normally busy ourselves with are all indifferent to our happiness (for our lives are not made good or bad by our having or lacking them). The difficulties Marcus faces putting Stoicism into practice are philosophical as well as practical, and understanding his efforts increases our philosophical appreciation of Stoicism. Born in 121 CE and educated extensively in rhetoric and philosophy, Marcus Aurelius succeeded his adoptive father Antoninus Pius as Emperor of Rome in 161 CE and reigned until his own death in 180. His reign was troubled by attacks from Germany, rebellions in northern Italy and Egypt, and an outburst of the plague; at least part of the work for which he is famous, the Meditations, was written during the last years of his military campaigns. Aside from the Meditations Marcus’ extant works include some edicts, official letters, and some private correspondence, including a lengthy correspondence with his rhetoric teacher and lifelong friend, Fronto. [ Marcus’ chief philosophical influence was Stoic: in Book I of the Meditations, he records his gratitude to his Stoic teacher and friend Rusticus for giving him Epictetus to read, a...

Hellenistic Greek philosophers moderated and improved earlier philosophies into the ethical philosophy of Stoicism. The realistic, but morally idealistic philosophy was particularly popular among the Romans, where it was important enough to have been called a religion. Originally, the Stoics were the followers of Zeno of Citium who taught in Athens. Such philosophers came to be known for the location of their school, the painted porch/colonnade or stoa poikile; whence, Stoic. For Stoics, virtue is all you need for happiness, although happiness is not the goal. Stoicism was a way of life. The goal of Stoicism was to avoid suffering by leading a life of apatheia (whence, apathy), which means objectivity, rather than not caring, and self control. Marcus Aurelius Coin. © Trustees of the British Museum, produced by Natalia Bauer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five so-called good emperors, which is fitting for a leader who tried to live virtuously. Marcus Aurelius is more familiar to many for his Stoic philosophical writing known as than his accomplishments as a Roman emperor. Ironically, this virtuous emperor was the father of a son known for his impropriety, Emperor Commodus. Herm of Zeno of Citium. Cast in Pushkin Museum from original in Naples. None of the writing of the probably Phoenician Zeno of Citium (on Cyprus), the founder of Stoicism, remains, although quotations about him are contained in Book VII of Diogenes Laertius' . Foll...

What is the origin of stoic? Zeno of Citium, born in Cyprus in the 4th century B.C.E., traveled to Athens while a young man and studied with the important philosophers of the day, among them two influential stoic as a general term for anyone who could face adversity calmly and without excess emotion. By the 15th century, we'd also begun using it as an adjective meaning "not affected by or showing passion or feeling." Noun "That would have been to dishonor him," said Carr, a notorious stoic who was nearly overcome by emotion in his postgame press conference. Instead, he told the Wolverines that the best way to honor Schembechler was "to play in a way that would have made him proud." — Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 27 Nov. 2006 The philosophical implications of this claim are as volcanic as the emotions it depicts, for Nussbaum here counters an age-old view espoused by Stoics, Christians and Kantians, alike: emotions are disruptive and subversive to reason, they arise from parochial needs and interests and therefore the life well lived is the life in which the things of this world are left behind for a higher sphere beyond accident, pain and desire. — Wendy Steiner, New York Times Book Review, 18 Nov. 2001 Noun This scene occurs scarcely ten minutes after Rocky has seen Apollo Creed, now his friend, killed in the ring by Ivan Drago, a menacing Soviet stoic. — Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023 Living as a stoic only during these kinds of events is akin to stoppi...

Key Takeaways • Stoicism has become incredibly popular in the last decade. • The three disciplines of Stoicism teach us how to step back, act with intention, and improve our relationship with the world. • For Stoicism to be a philosophy of life, it's not enough to make one's life better; a Stoic must make the world a better place for others, too. How does a person live a Founded by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century BC, Stoicism unified logic, ethics, and metaphysics into a coherent philosophy of life. The school would evolve throughout the Hellenistic period and, like so much of Greek culture, would eventually migrate to the Roman Empire. There, it found some of its most well-known and influential voices: the former-slave Epictetus, the statesman Today, Stoicism is booming. Meditations, Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, and all-things Epictetus’ are way up. The philosophy has become the subject du jour of newsletters, podcasts, Instagram feeds, self-help blogs, and quote devotionals proliferating the internet. But what’s different about this modern Stoicism from its ancient counterpart? How can we separate the philosophy of life from the life hacks and quickie When I saw that philosophy could be practical for something, first of all, my mind was blown. I took a metaphysics class, and I thought philosophy was for constructing trilemmas about ontological issues. That you could actually use philosophy was crazy. That they were doing it 2,500 years ago, even crazier. Kevin: [Laug...

Seneca is a major philosophical figure of the Roman Imperial Period. As a Stoic philosopher writing in Latin, Seneca makes a lasting contribution to Stoicism. He occupies a central place in the literature on Stoicism at the time, and shapes the understanding of Stoic thought that later generations were to have. Seneca’s philosophical works played a large role in the revival of Stoic ideas in the Renaissance. Until today, many readers approach Stoic philosophy through Seneca, rather than through the more fragmentary evidence that we have for earlier Stoics. Seneca’s writings are stunningly diverse in their generic range. More than that, Seneca develops further and shapes several philosophical genres, most important, the letter and so-called “consolations”; his essay On Mercy is considered the first example of what came to be known as the “mirror of the prince” literature. After several centuries of relative neglect, Seneca’s philosophy has been rediscovered in the last few decades, in what might be called a second revival of Senecan thought. In part, this renewed interest is the result of a general reappraisal of Roman culture. It is also fuelled by major progress that has been made in our understanding of Greek Hellenistic philosophy, and by recent developments in contemporary ethics, such as a renewed interest in the theory of emotions, roles and relationships, and the fellowship of all human beings. And finally, some influential scholars have found, in the wake of Foucau...

“Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life.” - The ancient school of Stoicism itself was founded by a man named The philosophy of the Stoics held a strong belief in personal ethics, virtue, and aligning oneself with nature. Balancing these things was thought to lead to a good and happy life. The Stoics believed that the path to happiness (which they called eudaimonia) was discovered through: • Accepting the world for what it is (rather that expecting it to be something it is not) • Being resistant to the draws of desire, addiction, pleasure, fear, or pain • Understanding our own nature and acting in accordance with it • Living with virtue (the Stoic virtues were temperance, courage, wisdom , and justice) Stoic BELIEF of Virtue: A core teaching of Stoic philosophy is to live with of virtue. The Stoics believed that for human beings virtue is the only good. Externals such as money, fame, reputation, material things, etc are neither good nor bad, the are simply indifferent. The virtues of Stoic philosophy are: • Wisdom - seeing things for what they are, not what we wish they would be • Courage - acting in the right way despite fear or reservation • Justice - acting fairly despite pressure not to • Temperance - acting with disci...

What is the origin of stoic? Zeno of Citium, born in Cyprus in the 4th century B.C.E., traveled to Athens while a young man and studied with the important philosophers of the day, among them two influential stoic as a general term for anyone who could face adversity calmly and without excess emotion. By the 15th century, we'd also begun using it as an adjective meaning "not affected by or showing passion or feeling." Noun "That would have been to dishonor him," said Carr, a notorious stoic who was nearly overcome by emotion in his postgame press conference. Instead, he told the Wolverines that the best way to honor Schembechler was "to play in a way that would have made him proud." — Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 27 Nov. 2006 The philosophical implications of this claim are as volcanic as the emotions it depicts, for Nussbaum here counters an age-old view espoused by Stoics, Christians and Kantians, alike: emotions are disruptive and subversive to reason, they arise from parochial needs and interests and therefore the life well lived is the life in which the things of this world are left behind for a higher sphere beyond accident, pain and desire. — Wendy Steiner, New York Times Book Review, 18 Nov. 2001 Noun This scene occurs scarcely ten minutes after Rocky has seen Apollo Creed, now his friend, killed in the ring by Ivan Drago, a menacing Soviet stoic. — Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023 Living as a stoic only during these kinds of events is akin to stoppi...

By: Stephen Hanselman [1] If You Want a Smooth Flow of Life, Live According to Nature euroia biou) comes from “living in agreement with nature.” It was the second leader of te phusei; or “according to,” kata phusin). kathekon) as a central concern, our obligation to act appropriately in our given roles in family and society, and it was no accident that as a consequence he taught that we were obligated to participate in public life until we are unable. daimon, an inner genius or purpose, that connects us to the universal nature. Those who live by keeping the individual and universal natures in harmony are happy, and those who don’t are not. The disjunction of these two natures is a root source of human misery and not how we are meant to live. So, how do we avoid this disjunction? [2] Happiness Isn’t Found in Things, but in Virtue Alone – It’s All About What We Value and the Choices We Make The early Stoics often disagreed about many particulars, but they all agreed that for human beings the happy life was to be found only in the pursuit of sophrosune), courage ( andreia), justice ( dikaiosune), and practical wisdom ( phronesis). Simply put, for human beings, Arius Didymus, who served as one of two close [*] phronesis) is the knowledge of what things must be done and what must not be done and what is neither, and leads us to appropriate acts ( kathekonta). Within wisdom, we’ll find virtuous qualities like soundness of judgment, circumspection, shrewdness, sensibleness, sound...

Hellenistic Greek philosophers moderated and improved earlier philosophies into the ethical philosophy of Stoicism. The realistic, but morally idealistic philosophy was particularly popular among the Romans, where it was important enough to have been called a religion. Originally, the Stoics were the followers of Zeno of Citium who taught in Athens. Such philosophers came to be known for the location of their school, the painted porch/colonnade or stoa poikile; whence, Stoic. For Stoics, virtue is all you need for happiness, although happiness is not the goal. Stoicism was a way of life. The goal of Stoicism was to avoid suffering by leading a life of apatheia (whence, apathy), which means objectivity, rather than not caring, and self control. Marcus Aurelius Coin. © Trustees of the British Museum, produced by Natalia Bauer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five so-called good emperors, which is fitting for a leader who tried to live virtuously. Marcus Aurelius is more familiar to many for his Stoic philosophical writing known as than his accomplishments as a Roman emperor. Ironically, this virtuous emperor was the father of a son known for his impropriety, Emperor Commodus. Herm of Zeno of Citium. Cast in Pushkin Museum from original in Naples. None of the writing of the probably Phoenician Zeno of Citium (on Cyprus), the founder of Stoicism, remains, although quotations about him are contained in Book VII of Diogenes Laertius' . Foll...