If your estimate of philosophic disputation is set to trees toppling in forests with no one around to hear them , the entire concept of Stoicism may seem a shade … complicated .
We ’re not talking " stoicism " as we bonk it today . Nowadays , a stoical — with a lowercase " s " — is someone who has an indifference toemotionsandpain . Think Star Trek ’s Mr. Spock . imagine someone with a stiff upper lip . intend " Keep Calm and Carry On . "
Stoicism — the school of thought , with a uppercase " S " — is much more complicated . And much elder . Stoicism is an ancient philosophy , debated and practiced by Stoics in Greece and Rome thousands of years ago and taught to coevals of follower . It ’s not dry - up thought on sheepskin , either . Today , Stoicism is enjoying a Renascence all over the world .
modernistic - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. Stoics — again , capital " S " — write books ( " How to Be a stoical : Using Ancient Philosophy to live on a Modern Life , Stoicism and the artistic production of Happiness " ) and blog ( How to be a Stoic , Daily Stoic , and the duel sitesModern StoicismandTraditional Stoicism ) . They form local chapter to discuss Stoicism ’s economic value . They even get together in a big person - look normal called a Stoicon . It ’s like Comic - Con , only withMarcus Aureliusand Epictetus instead of Batman and the Avengers . The slogan of the 2016 convention , hold in New York City ? " Get Your Stoicon "
The intact cultivated populace once was ruled by a Stoic : the said Marcus Aurelius , emperor butterfly of Rome from 161 - 180 C.E. , who was often touch to as the philosopher king [ source : De Imperatoribus Romanis ] .
Stoicism is not a faith , but it has informed some , include Buddhism ( for heedfulness ) and Christianity ( monotheistic belief , self - interrogatory and acceptation of God ’s will ) [ source : Logos Talk , Philosophy for Life ] . Of course , there are many difference between these religions and Stoicism and many modern Stoics are atheists . Links to Stoicism can also be find in cognitive behavioural therapy , with its accent on logic and control one ’s thought and opinion .
Above all , perhaps , Stoicism is a philosophy that teaches the value of emotional control in living one ’s life fully . Moral goodness and felicity can be attain by being perfectly rational . The cunning part ? One of Stoicism ’s independent precept is that man ( sorry , philosophers used to talk in the masculine all the time ) must recognize that some thing are beyond his control [ author : Traditional Stoicism ] .
How ? Ah , yes . As a great author once penned , there ’s the rub . It ’s not easy , and all the misconception floating around can make the intact idea of Stoicism puzzling . Let ’s see how it come out .
The History of Stoicism
Stoicism was born in ancientGreecein the prison term of greatphilosophers . The term Stoic is culled from the Greek wordStoa Poikile , or Painted Porch , a public space in Athens where instructor and student regularly receive and chewed the philosophic fatty tissue . The Stoa was , in many ways , the centre of Grecian life . In the thick of this cerebral carnival , sometime around 300 B.C.E. , the human now considered the Padre of Stoicism first opened minds [ source : Internet Encyclopedia of philosophical system ] .
Zeno of Citium , the boy of Greek merchant , was divagate around Athens after being shipwrecked on a slip from Cyprus . Zeno at first accept the teaching of others , admit the Cynics . ( Yep , there was such a affair , and they commit the doctrine Cynicism , with a capital C. ) bit by bit , Zeno come around to study and then spreading his own ideas , incorporating elements of Cynicism and other ancient teaching , into a philosophy subsequently to be make after the steps from which he lectured . None of Zeno ’s works survive , but many sayings and anecdote were commemorate by his followers .
Zeno ’s philosophy can be described in several mode — philosophy , remember , is nothing if not eminently problematical — butDaily Stoicputs it simply enough : Stoicism is a pursuit of happiness reach through a " eace of mind that comes from living a life of sexual morality in conformity with ground and nature . "
Among the other philosophers who mould early Stoic thinking were Cleanthes , Cato , Seneca , Epictetus and — notably after the center of stoical intellection swung from Athens to Rome , where it became a prevailing philosophy — Marcus Aurelius [ author : The Basics of Philosophy ] .
Epictetus was an interesting fellow . A former slave , he was permit to listen to stoical philosophers while still in servitude , and when he afterwards earned his freedom he began to hold forth with his own lectures . He is credit with the wisdom behind " The Enchiridion , " a enchiridion of thought on Stoicism . The first line of it , attributed to Epictetus ( though the manual was written by someone else ) , is this : " Some things are in our control and others not . " accept that Sojourner Truth found you on the way to being a Stoic .
All of the early Stoics expounded on Zeno ’s teachings with thoughts of their own , while debating , clarifying and arguing among themselves . That philosophical hand-to-hand struggle mates — much like , we suppose , the back - and - forth concerning that Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the Sir Henry Wood — has raged for grand of years . Proponents and followers of Stoicism are still pushing and pulling over the finer power point today , still trying to estimate out just what Stoicism is and how it might outfit into our lives .
Just What the Heck Is Stoicism?
We live Stoicism is not simply that lack - of - emotion , stiff - upper - sassing affair . Though with a draw of public lecture about ground and control your emotion , it ’s easy to see where that somewhat modernistic - day twist spring up .
What Stoicism is , through all the varying interpretations , is a blueprint to live a better life-time . A route to what some call " happiness . "
To get there , the ancient Stoics believed in introspection ( it ’s a philosopher thing ) . They lay out three orbit of discipline that a thoughtful , inwards - gazing Stoic should embrace and commit to attain that felicity or fulfilment .
1 ) Physics : By this , Stoic imply the study of both the natural existence and of metaphysics ( that which is beyond the physical world ) . The word " nature " is used as all - encompass ; it not only includes nature as we lie with it , but God and the divine as well . stoic saw it all as one [ source : How to Be a Stoic , Traditional Stoicism ] .
Here ’s how philosopher Massimo Pigliucci put it in his blogHow to Be a Stoic , while pointing out still - red-hot disagreements on the religious and spectral notions of Stoicism : " A all-important mind that the Stoics derived from their physics is that life ought to be lived ' according to Nature , ' which can then in turn be interpreted as ' in accord with what Zeus ( God ) has ordain , ' or simply lived concord to reason , develop to its sound that most specific attribute of the human creature . Being a secular person , I obviously go for the latter interpretation . " unemotional person believed theuniversebegan in a cosmic ardor and will end the same way , but begin again .
2 ) Logic : This include the field of psychological science and other social sciences ( economics , sociology , history , etc . ) and is often referred to as " reason , " a treasured concept in Stoicism . It is through reason , Stoics believe , that we put on knowledge , and with noesis we can well understand and flourish in the world around us [ source : How to Be a Stoic ] .
3 ) value orientation : Stoics believe , above all else , in four heavy virtues : braveness , justice , wisdomandtemperance . A Stoic life history involves trying to nutrify these values , on a daily basis , for become a consummate person and live a good life sentence .
To hold up a stoical life , believers must thoughtfully consider " good " emotion ( love , joy ) and " unfit " ones ( green-eyed monster , ira ) but not let any of them interpose with their pursuit of virtue . Stoic train for a country ofapatheia — not quite what we fuck as apathy , but a position without distracting emotion or excitation — to guess intelligibly , rationality right and process toward a virtuous spirit . Rather than suppressing emotion , these must be transformed to achieve interior calm air [ source : How to Be a Stoic ] .
Stoicism for Today
So how does Stoicism — born on a porch in ancient Athens , now all over the net — conform to into a world where intellect , introspection and self - control seem as foreign to many as … well , as Spock himself ?
Some , it ’s important to mark , say that it does n’t equip at all . Stoicism had its critic , even in its heyday . Cicero , who hold out from 106 - 43 B.C.E. , conceive that Stoic ism was too abrasive and threatened the passion and emotion that is part of being human .
" What ? A Stoic rouse enthusiasm?“Cicero drop a line . " He is much more probable to extinguish any exuberance the student may have had to begin with " [ source : How to Be a unemotional person ] .
It ’s a shot that still stings stoic today .
Still , Stoicism stay pop with many who bosom the estimate that God alone is in control of their lives , and that God and the universe are one , and that it ’s tomfoolery to let anything — passion , wealthiness , poverty , hate , invidia , green-eyed monster , that bad haircut — get in the way of the pursual of a vestal , attentive living . It ’s well , modern Stoics reason , to strive to be the good , most virtuous person possible , to live a life honoring God and being kind to others , than to get caught up in all that does n’t weigh .
So , how do you get there ? Philosopher Massimo Pigliucciwrote in the New York Timesabout his daily stoical practices . First , he embark on his day withmeditation . " stoical speculation consists in practice the challenge of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ahead , thinking about which of the four fundamental virtues ( bravery , calmness , ego - control and wisdom ) one may be called on to engage and how , " he suppose . Pigliucci also contemplate on the sayings of a famous Stoic . Another exercise he does consists of visualizing some kind of misfortune happen to him ( like losing his job ) and seeing it as " ' dispreferred indifferent , ' meaning that it would be better if it did n’t hap , but that it would notwithstanding not affect one ’s worth and moral value . "
Throughout the relief of the day , Pigliucci tries to be mindful and recognize that every decision he makes has a moral attribute , whether it ’s how he cover colleagues or how he shops for nutrient . In the evening , he does another intermediation where he write in his diary about his challenges of the solar day .
And if that piques your interest you may also wish to contract up for Stoic Camp .
Lots More Information
I ’ve spend a batch of my career interviewing professional athletes , many of whom sound positively stoical — capital S — when claiming they do n’t worry about things they ca n’t control . Coaches ' decisions . Fans ' ire . The leaping of the ball . Injuries . Still , it ’s often just a air ; theydocare . They want acceptation . establishment . Adoration . Admiration . There , I think , is the ultimate challenge of Stoicism . It ’s gentle to say that you wo n’t have the man get to you , that a greater good lies beyond the mess of everyday living . But that kettle of fish , let ’s not forget , cook us human .
