What Is Stoicism?

Stoicism or Stoic philosophy is a philosophy of personal ethics and a methodology for seeking practical wisdom in life. Stoicism or Stoic philosophy was a school of ancient philosophy founded in Athens by the Phoenician merchant Zeno of Kition around 301 BC. Stoicism is a school of thought that originated in ancient Greece and Rome in the early 3rd century BC. Founded by Zeno of Kition (344-262 BC), Stoicism is a philosophy that still has many adherents.

Founded 2,000 years ago in Ancient Greece (by Zeno of Kition), Stoicism was officially introduced into the Roman world by Cicero and flourished almost like an unofficial religion. The ancient Greek Stoics considered themselves the heirs of the moral philosophy of Socrates and the natural philosophy of Heraclitus of Ephesus. The ethics and theology of Stoicism have influenced the development of Christianity, while the Stoic heritage extends into the modern era, setting precedents for some elements of the philosophy of Kant and Spinoza.


Stoic philosophy has changed over time, shifting its focus from logic and physics to more psychological issues such as tranquility and well-being. In the early stage of Stoicism, Stoicism was generally seen as a move back to nature, critiquing superstition and taboo (based on the Stoic idea that moral law is the same as natural law). It was based on the moral ideas of cynicism (Zeno of Kitium was a student of the eminent cynical coffers of Thebes) and softened some of the most severe principles of cynicism with some real restraint and practicality.

Stoicism focuses on the social responsibility of loving others, building virtuous relationships, and helping others. This is the Doer’s Philosophy – a set of ethical values ​​that we can actually adopt in our lives and work. Stoicism is a practical philosophy that can have tangible benefits in your life by following its ideals. Stoicism is a pragmatic philosophy whose main goal is to help people live the Odionian life, which the original Stoics saw as a life devoted to the practice of basic virtues.

From the very beginning, Stoicism was a true “Socrates” philosophy, and the Stoics themselves did not bother to label it that way. Stoicism is largely a philosophy applicable to everyday life, centered on ethics (understood as the study of how to live), itself based on what the original Stoics called “physics” (today). It is a combination of natural science and metaphysics) and what they call “logic” (a combination of modern logic, epistemology, philosophy of language, and cognitive science). Stoicism became the dominant popular philosophy of the educated elites of the Hellenistic world and the Roman Empire so much so that, in the words of Gilbert Murray, “almost all of Alexander’s successors self-proclaimed Stoic.

Although many of the ancient Stoics displayed astonishingly progressive ideas in their time, there is no doubt that the modern world in which we want to apply Stoics is different from the Roman world. Similar to the above, Stoics can be traced in a sense to the origins of Stoicism as a practical philosophy, as the ancient Stoics very clearly intended them to be primarily guides to everyday life rather than theories. This is one of the advantages of modern Stoicism over ancient Stoicism, exposure to new philosophies not available to Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Anna Seneca Jr, or his most famous pupils and thoughts.

Stoicism was not an elite philosophy reserved only for the powerful Romans: it was adopted by people from all walks of life. Stoicism or Stoic philosophy is one of the most popular civic disciplines in the West, practiced for the rich and the poor, the strong and the suffering in pursuit of a better life. They contain some of the greatest wisdom in world history, and together they form the basis of what is called Stoicism, an ancient philosophy that was once one of the most popular civic disciplines in the West, rich and The poor are doing it. , the strong and those who struggle equally in the pursuit of a better life. Looking back at Socrates and Socrates’ school of cynicism, ancient Stoicism asserts that all it takes to live a good life is to have virtue.

Epictetus’ handbook The Enchiridion is a particularly practical look at how to apply Stoicism to life. Written by Stoic philosophy professor and popularizer Massimo Pigliucci and longtime New Your Stoic Gregory López, the Senecas Letters contain 52 lessons week after week on how to apply Stoic philosophy to everyday life. An expansion of Massimo Pigliucci’s original essay in the New York Times, considered one of the catalysts for the modern Stoic movement, “How to be a Stoic” presents Stoicism in a modern context, consistent with the development of science and philosophy in the 1,500 years since Stoicism began. They didn’t call Stoicism or Stoic philosophy supermanism, but Stoicism, as old and boring as it may seem, is still very relevant and contains some of the most powerful tools we can use in the modern world.

Zenonism was quickly discarded, probably because Stoicism believed its founders were not entirely wise and did not avoid the risk of philosophy becoming a cult of personality. Foreword Top Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy (developed by Zeno of Kitium around 300 BC for pleasure, fear and pain), but subordinate to God.

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