What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is a school founded by Zeno of Citium (c.334-c.362 BCE), who was said to have come been stranded in Athens after a shipwreck. There he wandered into a bookshop, and read about the philosopher Socrates. He didn’t buy the book; instead, he asked the shop owner where he could find a real, live philosopher. The owner directed him to the philosopher Crates, a Cynic. Zeno combined the Cynic concern with living naturally and the emphasis on reason he found in the philosophy of Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. He eventually started giving lectures at the Stoa Poikile or ‘painted porch’ in Athens, and it was this that led to these philosophers becoming known as Stoics: those who met by the painted porch.
What is Natural?
Stoicism starts from a problem we have already discussed with the Cynics. The Cynics wanted to live in accord with nature, but what is nature, or what is natural? Unlike dogs, we can ask this question. For Zeno, if we can’t ask what nature is, then all attempts at a kind of natural way of living seem to be on shaky foundations.
As a result, Stoicism has three main concerns. The first is logic. If we are to understand nature, we need to be able to reason clearly, and the Stoics were important in the development of philosophical logic in the ancient world. The second is what might be broadly called physics, a study of the way in which the universe works so that we can put our logic to good work in establishing a firm understanding of what we might mean by ‘nature’. And the third is ethics because this is not just a matter of understanding what is natural, but also of adjusting our behaviour in such a way that we live in accord with the way that things actually are.
Epictetus’s Enchridion
Our reading this time has been Epictetus’s Enchridion. This is one of the most famous Stoic texts, written by the former slave Epictetus. The author of the Enchridion was Greek, and wrote in Greek; but he lived in Rome. He was given his freedom, and went on to become a philosophy teacher.
The Enchiridion begins with the words, ‘Some things are up to us and some are not up to us.’ Some of the things not up to us might include whether we are slaves or not, whether we are born in this or that place, whether we are sick or well, even our reputations and our possessions. Those things that are up to us, according to Epictetus, include our opinions, our ideas, our impulses and our desires.
We’ll discuss this in groups, first of all.
- What did you find compelling or useful about Epictetus’s advice?
- What advice was less useful, or more troubling?
Up to Us or Not?
Now I want you to think about mapping out your life, thinking about
- What are the things over which you have control?
- What are the things over which you have influence but no control?
- What are the things over which you have no influence and no control?
Map these are three concentric circles, with “control” in the centre, “influence” as the next ring, and “no influence, no control” on the outside.
Discussion
In groups share your maps.
- How do you manage the things over which you have control? How can you manage them better?
- How do you manage the things over which you have influence, but no control? How can you manage them better?
- How do you manage the things over which you have no influence and no control? How can you manage them better?
A Stoic Task
Our Stoic task for next time is this:
Think of some activity in which you take part regularly (at least once every few days)—the contemporary equivalent of going to the bath house. Think of the times that you have found aspects of this activity unpleasant: the things that have made you irritable, or that have disturbed your mind. Now write down the following:
- How much of what annoyed you was inherent in the nature of the situation? (For example, you may have been in the cinema, and people may have been chatting behind you. Or you may have been in a meeting, and people have been using annoying jargon. But these things may simply be what happens in cinemas and meetings).
- How much of what was happening was up to you (in Stoic terms) and how much was not up to you?
- How can you manage your responses to this situation better?
Make notes on this before the next session, and upload to the discussion board, marked “A Stoic Task, Part I”.
Part II of the task will be set at the next session. For part II, before you decide to embark on the activity again, read over your notes. Then continue with the activity as before, but with the following difference:
- For those things that are inherent to the situation and not up to you, remind yourself that this is what happens, they are a part of the necessity of the situation.
- For those things that concern your response to the situation, ask yourself what you can change to diminish the frustration.
Finally, reflect on your experience of going into this task with a Stoic mindset. How successful were you in recognising the necessity of the situation and in training your mind to not become disturbed?
Post your reflections on “A Stoic Task, Part II”.