Stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citium.
It is called Stoicism because his philosophical teachings were mainly done in Stoa Poikile, which literally translates to “Painted Porch”.
Zeno’s first teacher was Crates the Cynics. After awhile though, he pursue other teachings in the Megarian school and at the Academy. So it is natural for Stoicism to have a combination of the 3 philosophies Zeno himself had studied.
Unlike the Cynics who were in favour of an ascetic lifestyle, the Stoics believed that it is okay to enjoy life comforts as long as we are prepared to give them up when the time calls for it. They also thought that deliberately avoiding the good things in life may lead one to crave them all the more.
Stoicism has 3 main components; logical, physical and ethical.
1) Logic: If one knew logic, they could detect fallacies committed by others and prevail over them in arguments. Logic is just the study of the proper use of reasoning.
2) Physics: Explanations of the world around us; in Zeno’s time, it concerned more towards theology.
3) Ethics: Unlike the modern-day ethics, Stoic’s ethics refer to eudaemonistic ethics. Greek “eu” meaning “good” and “daimon” meaning “spirit”. It is not about moral right and wrong but with having a good spirit, living a good and happy life.
To have a good life, the Stoics recommended for us to be virtuous.
To be virtuous means to live in accordance with nature.
To be a virtuous individual is to perform our function well; what we were designed for.
What were humans designed for? What was our purpose on Earth?
I think that is a question many would have ask maybe once or twice or more in their lifetime. The Stoics answered that unlike animals, we have the ability to reason & so naturally, our function is to be reasonable. When we use our reason, we will be able to conclude that we were designed to do certain things, to have certain duties. Most significantly, since nature has intended us to be social creatures, we have duties to our loved ones and the people around us.
The Stoics had hoped that in studying logic, it will help to perform well another one of our functions; which is to behave in a rational manner. By studying physics, they hope to learn more about what we are designed for.
– Stoic philosophy is like a fertile field, with “Logic being the encircling fence, Ethics the crop, Physics the soil.” This metaphor makes clear the central role played by ethics in their philosophy: Why worry about the soil and why build a fence unless a crop will result?
Part Two, The First Stoics, A Guide to the Good Life
The primary ethical goal of Greek Stoics was the attainment of virtue.
When Stoicism philosophy was brought over to Rome, the Roman Stoics created a second goal; the attainment of tranquility. Tranquility is a psychological state that is absent of negative emotions and present of positive emotions (joy).
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It seems that the book will lean towards the Roman Stoicism as apparently, “tranquility” speaks out to people more than “virtue”. Though honestly at this moment of time, i do not know the differences. But the book did state that if we can achieve both, it is always for the best.
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