Stoicism & its philosophers

Popular Stoic philosophers.

Zeno of Citium – founder of stoic school in Athens (c. 300 BC)

Zeno is Citium is considered the founder of the Stoicism school of philosophy. When he was around thirty years old, Zeno became a student of Crates of Thebes (c. 265 – 285 B.C.), the famous Cynic philosopher in Athens. Zeno inherited the cynic’s brutal speech and controversial behaviour. He continually mocked the wealthy of Athens and got along with a crowd of the beggars.

 The first Stoic

After studying for 20 years, Zeno founded his school in philosophy in 300 B.C. he started out in lecturing on an Agora (Marketplace). Zeno wanted his style to compare with that of Socrates. Socrates used to talk philosophy with slaves, women and foreigners moving trough the same Athenian Agora.

Zeno wanted his school to be accessible to all. Everyone should be able to become a student. This was unlike some other schools; they only taught the wealthy in their gymnasiums. Zeno’s lectures drew many followers (firstly known as Zenonians, which later turned into Stoics) and people in Athens held him in high praise.

“we have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say” – Zeno.

Ethics

According to Zeno – like the Cynics – the only goal to strive for is a single, sole, and simple good. “happiness is a good flow of life” said Zeno, and this can only be achieved through the use of Reason which needs to overlap the Universal Reason (Logos), which rules everything. However, Zeno deviated from the Cynics by saying that things that are morally indifferent could nevertheless have value. Things have a relative value in proportion to how they help the natural instinct for self-preservation (Space and Motion, sd).

“all things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature” – Zeno.

Death

Zeno died around 261 B.C. After finishing his lecture, Zeno tripped, and as he fell, he broke his toe. Zeno saw this as a sign from the universe that this was his time to go. Since a Stoic always does what was in accordance with nature, he strangled himself. Since he never accepted citizenship of Athens, he died there as a foreigner from Cyprus. After his death, he became even more famous; he even has an impact crater on the Moon named after him (Roy, sd)

Chrysippus – third leader of the Stoic school

Chrysippus was born around 279 B.C. in Soli (now known as Mersin, Turkey). He moved to Athens and he quickly became famous for his love for learning and intellectual audacity. Chrysippus has left a collection of over 700 books. None of these have survived, all we have are theories quoted in works of other authors, like Cicero and Seneca (Dilouambaka, 2018). After the death of Cleanthes (second leader of the Stoic school) around 230 B.C. Chrysippus became the third head of the school.

Ethics

Chrysippus was considered a strong authority in the school and he would often take both sides of argument. Chrysippus outshined in logic, the theory of knowledge, ethics, and physics. He created a system of propositional logic. This system was created to understand the workings of the universe and our role as humans. He was the first to organize logic as an intellectual discipline (The Editors of Encyclopeadia Britannica, sd).

Chrysippus was the man who concluded that if the rational principle of the Logos were divine, the world could be defined as a manifestation of God.

“the universe itself is God, and the universal outpouring of its soul” – Chrysippus.

Death

The real cause of his death remains to this day uncertain. Momentarily there are two theories recorded.

1. He died from laughter

This theory says that Chrysippus saw a donkey while eating his figs and yelled: “Now give the donkey a pure wine to wash down the figs” which followed into him laughing so hard that he fell on the ground, and starting to shake with foam coming out of his mouth. He apparently died soon after.

2. Alcohol poisoning

This theory believes that Chrysippus drank too much undiluted wine and that the reason of his death was due to alcohol poisoning (Dilouambaka, 2018).

Lucius Annaeus Seneca – Ninth leader of the Stoic school

Seneca was born around c. 1 C.E. He was Rome’s leading intellectual figure in the mid-first century. Seneca was the second son of a wealthy family. His father was a teacher and his mother were of excellent character and education. Seneca’s aunt took him to Rome when he was only five years old. There was he trained in philosophy in the school of the Sextii – a school that blended Stoicism with Neo-Pythagoreanism – (Dudley, sd). Seneca is known for his philosophical works. His works include over a hundred documents dealing with moral issues. These writing consists one of the most important, primary material for Stoicism. Seneca has been described as “a towering and controversial figure of antiquity” and “the world’s most interested Stoic” (Ryan Holiday, sd).

Ethics

From the looks of letters that he wrote to the people around him, it was safe to say he was a trusted friend who gave good advice to his friends. Seneca would urge others to choose a role model, since that person can provide us with principles that would help us navigate through any circumstances

Seneca urged that you should not become a slave of your wealth. He only wanted the upside of wealth. He was always ready to use it, but never depend on it. Seneca says that we need to constantly re-examine if we are trapped by the gifts of good fortune, that we are scared to lose and therefore turn it into our master.

Before calling Seneca a Stoic, it should be noted that he writes within the system. Seneca emphasizes independence as a thinker. He does hold the Stoic views; he just isn’t anyone’s disciple or chronicler. Seneca sees himself as a philosopher like the older stoics. He is not concerned with keeping Stoicism free from non-Stoic ideas. He has integrated many principles he deemed helpful (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, sd).

“Time heals what reason cannot” – Seneca

Death

After helping Nero with his reign, he thought he could help end the long series of bad emperors (Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius), he withdrew from being a public person. The reason was that he grew older and due to his rising independence from Nero. His influence became smaller and after the death of Burrus, Seneca had to face his fate. In 65 C.E. he was forced into killing himself. This was because he apparently conspired against Nero with Piso. This is yet to be confirmed. In presence of his wife and friends, and in a way worthy of the Stoic, he ended his life (Wagoner, sd).

“often a very old man has no other proof of living than his old age” – Seneca

Epictetus (also known as Hierapolis) – Eleventh leader of the Stoic school

Epictetus was born on AD 55 as a slave in a wealthy household. His owner gave him the permission to pursue liberal studies. Epictetus gained his freedom shortly after emperor Nero’s death and he started teaching philosophy in Rome for 25 years. This lasted until emperor Domitian banished all philosophers in Rome. Epictetus fled to Greece and taught philosophy until he died (Who is Epictetus? From Slave To World Most Sought After Philosopher, sd). He became a Greek philosopher and he is associated with the Stoics, and his religious tone of his teaching in which this commended him to numerous early Christian thinkers. Epictetus based his teaching on the works of the early Stoics which dealt with the branches: logic, physics, and ethics. The role of his teaching was to encourage his students to live the philosophic life, whose end was happiness. Epictetus praised Chrysippus in the highest form and his work connected to the terminology that was developed by Chrysippus.

Ethics

As a stoic, Epictetus says that the man should be concerned solely with will, which only he alone can control. External events are beyond his control. He taught that philosophy was a way of live and not just a theoretical discipline.

To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept calmly and dispassionately whatever happens. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through self-discipline.

Epictetus saw moral philosophy as having the practical purpose of guiding people towards better lives. The aim was to live well, to ensure happiness. The task for Epictetus was to understand that not everyone has reached happiness, not even a small percentage of it. He believed that there was a reason for it and that there are solutions that can remedy this emotional state.

According to Epictetus are the ills we suffer a result from mistaken beliefs about what is truly good. We invest our hope in the wrong things, or at least in the wrong way. Our capacity to flourish and be happy is entirely dependent upon our own characters, how we dispose ourselves to ourselves, to others, and to events generally. What qualities our characters come to have is completely up to us. Therefore, how well we flourish is also entirely up to us (Seddon, sd)

“if the Stoic making progress understands God, the universe, and themselves in the right way. They will never blame the Gods, nor find fault with them” (Discourses, trans, hard).

Marcus Aurelius – Final leader of the stoic school.

Aurelius was born on April 26, A.D. 121. His name was M. Annius Verus and he came from a family who was descent from Numa, Second King of Rome. Due to the passing of his adoptive father in 161, Aurelius became the ruler of Rome. This lasted until 180 A.D. Instead of falling into a dictatorial role, he pursued to become a ruler who wanted to be fair and he constantly worked to better himself. He is now known as one of the 5 “good” emperors.

“very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking” –  Aurelius

Aurelius would write in his journal about how to become a better person, a wiser person, how to beat temptation and how to become a better ruler. This is one of the main reasons that Aurelius is still praised. His journal isn’t about his life or his issues, but how to become a better person and how to behave in situations where you don’t want to be in. he was seen as an emperor who had their kingdoms best interest and wasn’t corrupt. The worst decision Aurelius took was to ensure that his son Commodius was crowned after his death. He was notorious for not being the best suit to become an emperor. – This is the reason why Avidius Cassius rioted against the emperor. He wanted to prevent Commodius becoming an emperor (History.com Editors, 2019). The crowning of Commodius was the ending of Rome’s golden era.

Ethics

It was known that Aurelius would have rather become a philosopher. So, it was hard for an emperor-philosopher to be a ruler in an era that was shaped by war and treason. So, he decided to rule Rome according to the Stoic principles: “to make the best of it, to be a good human, a good emperor, to accept external factors and to act with restrain and moderation.”

“almost nothing material is needed for a happy life for he who has understood existence” – Aurelius