Hedonism To a considerable extent, Stoicism is a refutation of the belief that happiness is determined by means of pleasure and pain. This kind of philosophy is called hedonism (from the Greek root hedone, meaning pleasure). One of the earliest schools of hedonism was started on the coast of North Africa by Aristippus (c. 430 -350 B. C. E. ), who felt that, because sensory pleasures are more intense than mental or emotional ones, they are the best of all. Also, actual pleasures in the present are more desirable than potential pleasures in the future, since the latter may or may not come and things may be different for us then.
Stoicism Origins ◦ ◦ ◦ Zeno of Citium (333 -264 BCE) Chrysippus (280 -270 BCE) Epictetus* (~130 -50 BCE) Seneca (3 -65 CE) Marcus Aurelius* (121 -180 CE) A life resigned to ‘fate’, acknowledging limits of self-control and obligations of duty. Aiming for a tranquility of mind and evenness of emotional life. Extremely influential in Roman era, as well as in early Church doctrine.
Influence on Stoicism Cynicism Another influence on the origins of Stoicism was Cynicism, a philosophic “school” in the loosest sense. Founded by Antisthenes (c. 455 -360 B. C. E. ), who formed a school called the Cynosarges (The Silver Dog), the Cynics revolted against the rules and rigidity of Plato and Aristotle (while admiring Socrates’ disdain for fashion). The Cynics believed that the very essence of civilization is corrupt, and so lived austere, unconventional lives. They distrusted luxury as a “hook” that always brought complications and frustration into people’s lives. What happiness there is could only come from selfdiscipline and rational control of all desires and appetites, with minimal contact with conventional society.
However, writes Epictetus, “In our power are opinion, movement towards a thing, desire, aversion; and in a word, whatever are our own acts. ” What is in our power is our free will. We control our feelings about things, because we control our thinking. This frees us from depending on other people’s opinions of us for our self-esteem or happiness. We suffer to the extent that we take our lives personally. So, our status, good fortunes, mishaps, and relationships should be evaluated with the same disinterested detachment that we would give to everything else. Some Things Are in Our Control
If this is true, then nothing that happens can be “wrong” or “bad, ” since everything that happens is part of God’s rational plan. If your life is beyond your control, direct your efforts toward what you can control – your attitude or will. Developing a disinterested rational will is a matter of having no personal attachments or motives. For Stoics, wisdom consists in thinking of things that happen to you as you would any other event in the world, as a necessary part of the whole. And as everyone else is in the same situation, we are all part of a “universal city” – where each person is indifferent to themselves, knowing that “Logos knows best. ” Stoic Wisdom
Stoicism Aim: to achieve a tranquility of mind (ataraxia) and emotional stability (apathe) Means: to understand the nature of things Precepts: ◦ Understand what is or isn’t under one’s control ◦ No control over the events of life, but one’s reaction to those events ◦ So, reason-guided life in accord with the nature of things ◦ Fatalism: world determined by divine providence ◦ Conventionalism in moral action and social responsibility, including modesty ◦ Cosmopolitanism: reason is divine spark that unites individuals
Marcus Aurelius (121 -180 CE) Roman military and political leader ◦ Reigned 161 -180 CE ◦ last of the “Five Good Emperors” who governed the Roman Empire from 96 to 180, and is also considered one of the most important stoic philosophers. Meditations are stoic maxims to himself, a diary of a ruler ◦ written on campaign between 170 -180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty and has been praised for its "exquisite accent and its infinite tenderness. "
Another notable Stoic was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121 -180 C. E. ). While their pay scales varied, the philosophies of Epictetus and Aurelius were very similar. By temperament a scholar and a recluse, Marcus Aurelius lived surrounded by commotion, deception, and crowds, and so told himself – in his journal, known to us as his Meditations – to “look within” and to “only attend to thyself” (the only thing the Stoics believe we can control). The last truly great figure of Imperial Rome, Marcus Aurelius was once described as “by nature a saint and a sage, by profession a warrior and a ruler” – a Stoic Philosopher-King
A wise man is like an archer who cares less about actually hitting the target than about doing his best to hit it; wisdom includes understanding the difference. (apathê) So, if a perfectly wise man saw his child in danger of drowning he would try to save the child; but if he failed (or succeeded) he would accept this without feeling distress or pity (or pride or relief), and without his happiness being diminished (or enhanced). Moral virtue is the only good, wickedness the only evil: child’s death or survival is not a good or an evil; so long as the wise man tried his best, he has nothing to regret. Archer Simile (apathe)
Some Philosophy Comparisons Aim Plato Aristotle Epicureanism Stocisim Means Comments A just or well-order soul Each part of the soul doing its part well; reason rules… Knowledge of the good is paramount; wisdom Eudaimonia: happiness as a well ordered life as a whole Virtues: character traits that are means between extremes… Hierarchy of goods and necessities of good life; a whole life Eudaimonia: Ataraxia or mind and body free from disturbance Moderate Hedonism: Prudent action and understanding of nature; avoid pain, moderate pleasure Materialism and removal of irrational fear as cause of distrubances Eudaimonia: Ataraxia or pathe: rational constancy in accord with nature Moderate Fatalism: Knowing what is/is not within one’s control; adjusting desires to nature of things. Pantheistic, fatalistic, moral conventionalism, modesty; cosmopolitanism
If you had to pick one of these, which would you favor? Why? Are there any contemporary parallels with any of these views? Thoughts
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