Stoicism is a trend that arose in ancient philosophy during the era of early Hellenism. The object of scientific thought of the Stoics was the problem of ethics and lifestyle.
general characteristics
The philosophical school of the Stoics emerged during early Hellenism - approximately in the 3rd-4th centuries BC. The direction gained such wide popularity among ancient philosophers that it existed for several hundred years and underwent changes in the teachings of many thinkers.
The founder of this philosophical movement is Zeno from the ancient Greek city of Kition. After settling in Athens, he began his studies with famous philosophers of antiquity: Crate of Thebes, Diodorus Crohn and Xenocrates of Chalcedon. Having gained knowledge and experience, Zeno of Kitiysky decided to found his own school in the Painted Stoic, which first bore the name from his name - Zenonism, and then according to the name of the location of the school - Stoicism. Conventionally, this direction is divided into 3 periods: ancient, middle and late stand.
Ancient standing
Zeno of Kitiysky actively rejected the ideas of the Cynics (cynics) that dominated at that time that one should live as quietly as possible, imperceptibly, without taxing oneself with unnecessary things, “naked and alone”. However, he also did not recognize excessive wealth and luxury. He lived rather modestly, but not in poverty. He believed that in life one should voluntarily accept any possible activity, since practical participation in events gives a chance to truly cognize them.
Zeno developed the doctrine of affects - the consequences of erroneous judgments that prevent a person from living in harmony with nature and spoil the mind. He believed that affects should be specifically suppressed, and this can only be done with developed willpower. Therefore, willpower must be specially trained. Supporting the theory of Heraclitus of Ephesus, Zeno believed that the whole world occurs and consists of fire. Zeno died in old age, the alleged cause of death is suicide by holding his breath.
Zeno's closest student was Cleanthes. His main activity was writing. He owns many works on the thoughts and conclusions of his teacher, he left a rich bibliographic heritage, but he did not bring anything fundamentally new to philosophy. The alleged cause of his death is also suicide - it is believed that in his old years he deliberately refused food.
Chrysippus is one of Cleanthes's students. He was the first to systematize the knowledge of the Stoics into a coherent philosophical direction, and wrote, presumably, more than 1000 books. He considered Socrates and Zeno of Kitis to be the only sages who ever lived on the planet. In some moments, however, he did not agree with Zeno. He believed that affects (passions) do not arise from the wrong activity of the mind, but in themselves are erroneous inferences. Developing Zeno's idea of the origin of all things from fire, he believed that fires periodically occur in the universe, absorbing everything that exists and revives anew. He considered the basis for a correct lifestyle to be in harmony with nature.
Diogenes of Babylon began teaching Stoicism in Rome. He supported and developed the legacy left by Zeno of Kiti. His most famous student was Antipater of Tarsus, who developed Stoicism within the framework of theology.
Middle standing
The middle period of Stoicism begins with the first doubts about the veracity of the concepts of Zeno of Kitis. For example, Panetius of Rhodes rejected the possibility of an intermittent global conflagration. He also somewhat revised the question of the way of life: everything that nature requires of a person is beautiful, therefore, everything inherent in a person by nature must be fulfilled in life. To this he attributed communication with other people, knowledge of the world and spiritual improvement.
Posidonius is a student of Panetius, who has slightly rethought the works of his teacher. He believed that not every person should live in harmony with his own nature, because human souls are different, not all of them strive for self-improvement. He distinguished three types of souls: striving for pleasure (lower soul), striving for domination, and striving for moral beauty (higher soul). He considered only the third species to be reasonable, capable of living harmoniously and in harmony with nature. He considered the goal of life to be the suppression of the lower principle of the soul and the education of reason.
The famous representative of middle stoicism is Diodotus. He lived in the house of Cicero and taught him the fundamental ideas of Stoic philosophy. In the future, his student did not accept Stoicism, but the lessons of Diodotus were reflected in all his philosophical activities.
Late standing
Lucius Anneus Seneca learned the basics of Stoicism from the ancient Roman Stoics. A distinctive feature of his work is their clear connection with theology and Christianity. God, according to his concept, is infinitely merciful and wise. Seneca believed that the possibilities of the human mind's activity due to their divine origin are limitless, it is only worth developing them.
His ideas were rejected by another representative of late Stoicism - Epictetus. According to him, the human mind is not omnipotent. Not everything is subject to the forces of the soul and mind, and a person should be clearly aware of this. Everything that is outside our body, we can know only through inferences, but they can also turn out to be false. The way we think about the world around us is the basis of our happiness, therefore, we can manage our own happiness on our own. Epictetus ascribes all the evil of the world only to the wrong conclusions of people. His teachings are religious in nature.
Marcus Aurelius is the great Roman emperor and one of the most prominent figures of late Stoicism. He came to the conclusion that there are three principles in a person (and not two, as all his Stoic predecessors believed): the soul is an immaterial principle, the body is a material principle, and the intellect is a rational principle. He considered the intellect to be the leading one in human life, which contradicts the concepts of the Stoics of the early and middle periods. On one thing, however, he agreed with him: the mind must be actively developed in order to get rid of the passions that interfere with human life with their irrationality.
Sometimes the works of Philo of Alexandria are attributed to the era of late Stoicism, but the versatility of his theories does not allow them to be clearly attributed to any philosophical school. His works, like the works of many representatives of late Stoicism, have a vivid religious orientation. He believed that only unhappy people strive for wealth and reject the existence of God, their bodily motives prevail over spiritual ones. Philo equated such life aspirations with moral death. A person living in harmony with nature and himself must believe in God and turn to his own mind on the way to committing acts. According to Philo of Alexandria, the world consists of the upper and lower layers of space. The upper ones are inhabited by angels and demons, and the lower ones are mortal human bodies. The human soul enters the material body from the upper layers of space and has, respectively, an angelic or demonic nature.
Thus, for Stoics of all periods, the basis of happiness was harmony with nature. A person should avoid affects, or strong emotions: pleasure, disgust, lust and fear. You need to suppress them with the help of the development of willpower.
