Stoicism

“Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace” (Saunders 135). This quote from the Manual of Epictetus exhibits many of the basic philosophical tenants of stoicism. For stoicism is not as concerned with what people say, but rather what they do. Further, it was their contention that emotions such as fear, envy, or passionate love, etc. were the products of false judgement, which a sage, or a person who has attained moral and intellectual perfection (Baltzly). Moreover, the stoics hold true that the sage is “...utterly immune to misfortune and that virtue is sufficient for happiness” (Baltzly). The stoic philosophy was and is still is very popular for many people. The stoics had a particular way of thinking that affected their thoughts on philosophy and life, physical theory, logic, and ethics. It is here where we will explore these concepts, and how they were manifested by stoic philosophers. Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic Philosophy which was founded by Zeno of Citium in the early third century, BCE. The basis for the stoicism curiosity derives from the relationship between determinism and human freedom. Determinism, essentially meaning a cause and effect relationship, or basically, that events are bound by causes and determined by prior events. This kind of philosophy was seen as a way of life, and a way to live positively with nature, as opposed to a non-implantable philosophy. Philosophy, according to the stoics was a kind of practice “in the expertise concerning what is beneficial” (Baltzly). Stoic logic has become something of its own study, as it departs from traditional Aristotelean logic. This new kind of logic was termed, “propositional logic”. Thus, this logic was concerned with the statements or propositions, rather than the terms used in Aristotelean logic. Moreover, to further differentiate the logic of Aristotle and Stoic logic, Chrysippus developed a system of deductive logic. In using propositions rather than terms, an argument can be decided if it is valid or invalid if it is possible to reduce the argument to one of five different forms. These forms are: 1. If p then q; p; therefore q; 2. If p then q; not q; therefore not-p; 3. It is not the case that both p and q; p; therefore not-q; 4. Either p or q; p; therefore not-q; 5. Either p or q; not p; therefore q (Baltzly) Part of stoic logical is the epistemological views they have. Through reason, according to the stoics, knowledge can be grasped. The senses of the human body constantly receive sensations. These sensations are defined as, “the spirit which stretches from the ruling part of the soul to the senses, and also comprehension by the senses, and also the apparatus of the sense organs, which apparatus some people lack” (Saunders 67). These sensations pass from objects, through the senses, and to the mind, finally. The mind has the ability to judge, allowing the mind to decide if this is a true representation of reality, or false. In the Sextus Empiricus, it is said, “Real knowledge requires cognition which is secure, firm and unchangeable by reason...Weak and changeable assent to a cognitive impression is only an act of ignorance.” Stoic ethics are different than other types of philosophical ethics. Today, being “stoic” means being unemotional, or otherwise neutral when it comes to your emotions. This is possible because in Hellenistic times, stoics ethics taught the agent to separate our natural impulses with reason. This autonomy, or ability to disregard impulse to make otherwise rational decisions, is what distinguishes us as humans versus other animals. The stoics taught not to eliminate emotion, but to eliminate the emotional decisions we make. To the stoics, the good life would be, “possession of what is generally good secures a persons happiness” (Baltzly). The overall key was peace of mind. To not worry about the things beyond control, but to concentrate on the actual facts of the situation. For example, in the Manual, it is said we do not enjoy kissing a specific person, we enjoy kissing a human being. It is in that spirit, where if something were to die, we should not be sad, but accept what has been gifted to us, and that it has been returned. Further, there are things that could be categorized as being “indifferent”. One example of this would be having wealth, for having wealth is not morally good, or morally bad. Eventually this led to three types of indifference: “things to prefer because they assist life according to nature; things to avoid because they hinder it; and things indifferent in the narrower sense.”