Stoicism is the name given to a philosophical school born in the ancient Hellenistic world and ultimately developed in The Roman Empire. Its influence lasted only a few centuries and took place in an age of strong intellectual competition, but it was enough to leave a mark in the history of thinking, philosophy and religion, as well as our everyday language.
Stoics taught that we live in a Pantheistic world, a wholly unified universe ruled by an entity of pure reason named logos of which the gods are mere manifestations. The only viable way for those who live in this world, that is, us humans, is to follow its natural order and live in harmony with it, understanding that our pains, fears and destructive passions are just a result of not going with this flow. Stoicism, therefore, teaches that the ultimate meaning of life is following virtue and acting in accordance with it; only by doing so we will be truly happy, free of emotional disturbances, like authentic sages. This is the origin of the modern term "stoic", used to describe people who act unmoved by emotion or passion, even if this meaning only loosely fits what a Stoic was truly meant to be.
History
The Stoic school was founded by the Phoenician-Greek Zeno of Citium, a fan of Socrates and Cynic philosophy who started teaching publicly in a particular colonnade of Athens, called the Stoa Poikile ("Painted Porch"), hence the name of Stoics. Zeno's lessons became so popular that even kings were among his hearers, and a lineage of smart apprentices like Cleanthes and Chrysippus helped to develop it into one of the hottest philosophies of its age.The school's breaking point, however, came under the leadership of Diogenes of Babylon, who brought its doctrine to The Roman Republic for the first time and made many Roman aristocrats interested on it. When Diogenes' apprentice Panaeutius made acquaintances in the highest Roman aristocracy, represented in this case by the powerful Scipio Aemilianus, Stoicism became entangled inextricably with the Roman spirit of austerity, domination and cosmopolitism, and went on to be observed by several other statesmen. It reached its peak with emperor Marcus Aurelius, one of its main exponents, and only afterwards started dying out with the boom of more popular systems of belief like Neo-Platonism and Christianity.
Stoicism had its main rival in Epicureanism, although more thematically than in practice given that the Epicurean school never gained as much importance as them (their whole point was not to do). Ironically, while holding opposite attitudes in several fields of life, Stoics and Epicureans actually agreed in a significant number of them, and whether any of the two even acknowledged this depended heavily on the philosopher in question.
Stoic doctrine evolved considerably throughout its story, especially in its transition from Greece to Rome, and many of its tenets remain alive today in various forms. Panaetius, an eclectic philosopher who mixed Stoicism with multiple flavors, adapted it further to appeal to Roman sensibilities, over which posterior Roman thinkers built following their own experiences and opinions. Even after Stoicism died out with the dominance of Christianity, several of its values were assimilated into this new religion, as they were found to fit nicely. St. Paul himself is believed to have been heavily influenced by Stoic doctrine, with ancient legends claiming that he even traded letters with Seneca.
However, there have been several straight revival movements since, and even nowadays you will find all kinds of intellectual movements, self-help instructionals and internet communities that trace the origin of their ideas to the school of the painted porch. In modern Psychology, the psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was also officially inspired by Stoic philosophy, namely its axiom that logic and trained reason can be useful to dispel the destructive emotions that lead to anxiety and depression.
Tenets
As put above, Stoic philosophy upheld a post-theological cosmology where the entire universe was a sort of living, interconnected machine, the logos, of which we are all part. Traditional gods, depending on the Stoic thinker, were either just human metaphors for different aspects of the universe or actual manifestations of its different realities, with both interpretations sharing the idea that the divine is not interested in a small piece of it like you, therefore things like conventional praying (as in asking for things) or fear of the gods (that they might decide to personally screw you or other people up) are nothing more than silly superstitions. Nonetheless, most Stoics still recommended respecting traditional worship and public festivals, at the very least in order not to disturb social order.Stoicism's most important trait is causality. The universe is an entity made of pure reason whose workings travel through the law of cause and consequence, creating an immense net of chains of which you are one more link. Needless to say, being a link of that chain means there are both things you can exert control over and things you can not exert control over, and being able to tell apart between them is part of being wise and a Stoic. Therefore, Stoicism encourages you to work hard in those things you can control and endure with serenity those you cannot, helped by the knowledge that all of them are as natural and integral to the universe as the sky or the mountains. The one who understands this and can live with it is a Stoic sage.
In Stoic cosmology, there is no afterlife. Once you die, the soul and elements that form you will return to nature and your existence as an individual will be no more. Some souls might take more time to be subsumed after death than others, depending on how wise you were, but the result will be the same. However, in one of its few precious common points with Epicureanism, Stoicism teaches that there is nothing to fear in death, because you cannot feel pain or fear without earhtly senses to feel them, and in any case, given that death is inevitable, you should not spend much time thinking about it, unless it is to remind yourself that life is short and you must act in consequence (memento mori).
Stoicism has no commandments, but it has four cardinal virtues, which are effectively deemed the only good in existence; to everything else you can (and must, ideally) show indifference, but those four you must follow to be a good, rational human being. They are pretty simple and are up to Exactly What It Says on the Tin:
- Wisdom: basically, not being a dumbass.
- Courage: being brave.
- Justice: upholding justice in accordance with reason.
- Temperance: keeping in check your inner passions.
The fourth point is especially poignant in Stoicism. Every Stoic is expected to be always in control of his emotions, at least in the measure needed to keep them from making you acting against reason, thus harming yourself and/or others. The ideal mindset is apatheia, which doesn't translate exactly as apathy, but rather as dispassioned or in peace of mind. If done correctly, it will also bring ataraxia, which means absence of pain (this is the same concept as in Pyrrhonism and Epicureanism, only that in these philosophies is the main goal, while in Stoicism is, as you can see, a consequence of the true goal).
Stoic writers were especially fond of unarmed combat sports like boxing, wrestling and pankration (basically, ancient Greek Mixed Martial Arts) as metaphors for life,note some of them, like Cleanthes and Marcus Aurelius, having trained them themselves. Following the latter, just as an unarmed fighter always has his natural weapons with him, one must be always have his principles with him and being ready to wield them in the unending conflict against passions and unreason.
Stoic views about sex depend heavily on the author in question, some of them being shockingly progressive even by our modern standards and others being gruelingly conservative even for their own time. They did have in common some points, among them that sex was acceptable as long as you didn't start thinking with your nether regions, and preferrably if it wasn't sought after solely by raw pleasure, but more important things like love, friendship and connection. Roman Stoics were the most ascetic, with their ultimate attitude being that it was better not to spend too much energy in sex and to dedicate it instead to more productive things (having children being the exception).
Despite a certain modern reputation of it being a philosophy for individualist people, Stoicism was actually a profoundly social doctrine. As we humans are all part of the same living cosmos, this means we are all basically equal as rational animals and should treat each other as justly as possible, even slaves and enemies, only resorting to violence whenever it's sorely needed to avoid injustice.note Asking others for help when one is at his wit's end, and granting it to others, is not only allowed, but mandatory, just like no soldier should ever hope to win a battle by himself. A similar but different rule applies to animals and plants, beings of less to no rationality, which nature has mandated to exist to be consumed by humans and other animals.note At the end of the day, it is all about knowing your nature as a drop in the current of the universe and being open to the reality that we are all one.
Of course, Marcus Aurelius sums all Stoic philosophy up with a simple quote: true Stoics don't pass their time arguing what is a virtuous man, but being it.
Comparisons
You can note that Stoic philosophy itself strongly resembles several Eastern religions, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. For the Stoics, God equates the totality of universe; it's not a personal, remote deity, but an entity that pervades and animates the entire existence, even us humans, resembling the Hindu concept of Brahman or the Taoist idea of Tao. Space and time are not considered lineal, but cyclical, wheeled by an infinite number of universes that are born and destroyed, as in the Indian system of yugas and kalpas. Even the way of living espoused by Stoicism, a form of asceticism focused on enforcing virtue and keeping oneself away from passions and desires, echoes Buddha's Dharma to a degree you could make entire Stoic tracts pass as Buddhist texts and few people would notice. Influences from Indian philosophies or religions are also definitely possible, since the Greeks were in contact with those lands due to the campaigns of Alexander the Great.See also Morality Tropes and Philosophy Tropes for different kinds of morality and philosophy systems.
