Introduction to Stoicism

In English, to be stoic is to be unwavering under distress and hardship. This word was taken from the classical Greek school of philosophy Stoicism. The philosophy of the Stoics has recently had a resurgence on the internet, where many look to certain aspects of Stoicism as advice on how to live. There are two groups of people, each with their own interpretation of Stoicism. Some claim that Stoicism aligns closer to the modern definition of stoic, claiming that it means living unwaveringly, with no emotions. Others refute that, saying that Stoicism is actually about controlling your emotions. Today, we’ll be taking a look into classical Stoicism, and how both of these ideas are partially true.

Stoicism is composed of three components. The one most talked about today is Ethics, which is the practical application of Stoic ideas. However, there are two other categories, Physics and Logic, which are more theoretical. They are the attempts of the Stoics to explain the universe without the scientific tools we have today. Of course, with those tools, we can disprove the ideas they had, but it is important to note that the practical part of Stoicism, Ethics, is built upon those two previous components. 

Stoic Ethics claim that a good life is attainable through virtue. They say that to be virtuous is to live in accordance with nature. Two types of nature are referred to here. Firstly, they say that one must live in accordance with human nature. Secondly, one must live in accordance with nature as in the universe, the world that we live in. To do these things, we must understand the natures we wish to live with. This is what the two other components did for the Stoics. Stoic Physics says that the Universe is made of the passive substance, which is matter, and the active substance, which is a kind of life force that exists through the passive substance. According to the Stoics, god or Zeus is the active substance. This explains the universe's nature. To explain human nature, the Stoics outlined 4 virtues to follow. Those are prudence, which is to have the wisdom to understand the world and to live virtuously in it, justice, which is to treat others with forgiveness and respect, courage, which is to have the ability to be virtuous without fear, and temperance, which is to moderate yourself in desire and emotion. 

This final tenet, moderating emotion, is where the modern definition of stoic comes from, and where the first group of Stoic followers get their ideas from. Indeed, the perfect Stoic, sometimes called the Stoic Sage, has no passions. However, as the second group of modern followers of Stoicism say, it is not expected of people to be the perfect Stoic. The Stoics know that it is impossible have no emotions whatsoever. To ignore or hide all human emotions is false, and so the real idea of Stoicism is to live virtuously even despite those emotions. They do teach that to do that, one should avoid the passions and one should be able to step away from their emotions, but they do not say that one should not have them, and not that one should not show them.

I do not tell you all of these things to tell you that following Stoicism will bring you success or happiness or a good life. I tell you them so that you may consider them, put them into the perspective of your life, and then make a decision to incorporate them into your worldview, or to not make that decision. Either way, I strongly encourage you not to take these things at face value, and to make your own conclusions about this philosophy. I would also encourage you to look for sources on this beyond just me. I appreciate you taking the time to read my writing, but there are countless people out there educating about philosophy, and compiling all those perspectives will give you the purest information. Thank you for reading!

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