Stoicism: The Philosophy of Virtue, Control, and Calm
Stoicism teaches that virtue is the only true good and that we should focus on what we can control. Learn its origins, key ideas, and practical exercises.
Stoicism is an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that teaches that virtue, meaning wisdom, courage, justice, and self-control, is the only true good, that most external events are outside our control, and that a good life comes from judging things correctly and accepting what we cannot change. It began in Athens around 300 BC and flourished in Rome for several centuries. Today it is one of the most widely read ancient philosophies, valued as a practical guide to handling stress, loss, and setbacks.
Where did Stoicism come from?
Stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citium, a merchant from Cyprus who, according to tradition, turned to philosophy after a shipwreck, and who taught in the Stoa Poikile, the painted porch, in Athens. The school is named after the porch. After Zeno came Cleanthes and Chrysippus in the early Stoa, and Panaetius and Posidonius, who adapted the ideas for Rome.
The Roman Stoics are the ones whose writings survive best. Seneca (about 4 BC to AD 65) was a playwright and statesman, adviser to the emperor Nero, who was ordered to take his own life in AD 65. Epictetus (about AD 50 to 135) was born a slave in Phrygia and became one of the most influential teachers of his age. Marcus Aurelius (AD 121 to 180) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death, and the notes he wrote to himself in Greek, now known as the Meditations, are a record of a ruler practising the philosophy under pressure.
What are the core ideas of Stoicism?
- Virtue is enough for a good life. Health, wealth, and reputation are natural to prefer, but the Stoics call them indifferent: they are not truly good or bad and do not decide whether you flourish.
- The dichotomy of control. Epictetus begins his Handbook by saying that some things are up to us and some are not. Our opinions, choices, desires, and actions are up to us. Our bodies, property, reputation, and other people's actions are not. Calm comes from putting effort into the first group and accepting the second.
- Living according to nature and reason. Humans are rational and social, and the universe is ordered by reason, which the Stoics called logos. We should therefore act as responsible members of a community that includes all human beings.
- Emotions come from judgments. As Epictetus put it, people are disturbed not by things but by their opinions about things. The Stoic ideal, apatheia, is freedom from destructive passions such as rage and fear. It does not mean feeling nothing, because Stoics also describe good emotions such as joy and caution.
What are Stoic practices?
Stoicism was meant to be practised, and the ancient authors describe exercises that can still be used:
- Negative visualisation: picture possible setbacks, or the loss of what you value, in advance. The aim is to face them with less fear and to appreciate what you have.
- The view from above: imagine looking down on your problems from a great height and see how small they are against the whole world and the whole of time.
- The evening review: Seneca described ending each day by asking what he had done well and where he had fallen short.
- Voluntary discomfort: deliberately practise mild hardship, such as cold or simple food, so that fear of losing comfort loses its grip.
- The pause: before reacting to something that upsets you, stop and ask whether the matter is in your control.
Stoicism and modern psychology
Cognitive behavioural therapy grew in part from Stoic ideas. Albert Ellis, who developed rational emotive behaviour therapy in the 1950s, and Aaron Beck, who developed cognitive therapy in the 1960s, both acknowledged the influence of the idea that beliefs about events shape our emotions. A modern Stoicism movement has produced popular books and an annual Stoic Week since 2012.
Critics argue that Stoicism can be misread as a call to suppress feeling or to put up with injustice. The Stoics themselves rejected this: Marcus Aurelius governed an empire, Seneca advised rulers, and Stoic writers insisted on duty to others. Stoic ethics is a form of virtue ethics, one of the main approaches alongside utilitarianism and deontology, and its emphasis on attention and acceptance has often been compared with Buddhist practice (see Zen koans).
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ancient greece moral philosophy philosophy stoicism virtue ethics