Considering that the present lifestyle poses a lot of scenarios which most do not go our way, the philosophy of stoicism has gained a place of importance yet again. Notwithstanding the ‘philosophy’ word, I urge you to read on to know about stoicism and its interesting philosophy.
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What is stoicism about?
The philosophy of stoicism is essentially about accepting any circumstance without reacting to it. The person doesn’t display any sort of emotion or protest to a situation. There is a sense of indifference to joy or sorrow. To a common man, the philosophy of stoicism was to live a life without emotions. It was meant to follow in daily life. Stoicism was followed by the haves and have-nots, the rich and affluent, the poor and needy.
The philosophy of stoicism was followed to pursue what they called ‘the good life’. Stoicism was a popular discipline laid out for the people to follow in the West. It took two millennia for the world to realize its importance and pave the path to lead a good life.
Stalwarts of wisdom and leadership-George Washington, Ralph Waldo Waterson, Theodore Roosevelt, Eugene Delacroix, Thomas Jefferson to name a few, adapted the philosophy of stoicism. They found that they could face challenges by adapting to stoicism.
So, are you stoked enough to find out more about who founded stoicism?
The Founders of the philosophy of stoicism
The philosophy of stoicism is very ancient. So ancient that it dates to an era BC. It should be sometime in 300BC, Zeno, a merchant from Cyprus was on a voyage for trading, when he was shipwrecked. Having lost all that he had, he proceeded to Athens, his life changed after meeting two philosophers, Crates and Stilpo.
Zeno
Having met them, he considered his shipwrecked voyage ‘prosperous.’ He went on to build a “painted porch” where Zeno would have discussions with his disciples, the Zenonians. The ruins are still there for you to visit even after 2000 odd years. Not many acknowledge Zeno as the first philosopher of stoicism.
The Three Crusaders of Stoicism
It began in the era when Alexander the Great died and the ascent of the Roman empire. It was called the Hellenistic era. There were 3 philosophers who developed the philosophy of stoicism.
- Roman philosopher and political advisor Seneca the Younger
2. A slave Epictetus
3. An Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Seneca
If you remember ‘Renaissance’ from your history lessons of school, Seneca made the philosophy of stoicism popular during the renaissance. It was a renaissance of stoicism too. Sencan wrote a book on stoicism, the Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium which means Moral Epistles and Letters from a stoic.
One of his quotes in a more simplified goes as:
If you wish to escape that which harasses you, it is more important to strive to be a different person than about leaving what harasses you. It is changing your levels of emotional responses to the situation. Unfortunately, Seneca had to follow the orders of Emperor Nero to kill himself.
Epictetus
Fortunately, the philosophy of stoicism did not die with the unfortunate death of Seneca. Though being in slavery by birth, Epictetus is emotionless when he mentioned his owner Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus was a cruel Roman master. He was violent and wicked. He was a sadist. He found pleasure in hurting his slaves.
One such time, when Epaphroditus was indulging in his sadism, he began to twist Epictetus’s leg. Epictetus did warn Epaphroditus calmly, that he was twisting the leg and it might crack. Epaphroditus did not heed the warning. As fate had it, Epictetus’s leg snapped. Without a flinch, Epictetus smiled and said to his owner, “I warned you, didn’t I?”
Epictetus limped to walk, the rest of his life. There were no tears. There was no remorse. His spirit remained unbroken. “Lameness is an obstacle to my leg, not to my will”, he would say. This thought to choose to limit his limp to only a physical disability became to define the core of his philosophy of stoicism. He was of the thought that in this drama of life one should enact well, whatever part one is supposed to enact.
A slave turned to a teacher, Epictetus devoted 25 years teaching philosophy in Rome, until Emperor Domitian exiled all philosophers of Rome. After fleeing from Rome, Epictetus founded his school of philosophy and taught in Nico polis, Greece till his death.
Marcus Aurelius
The last of the five good emperors the world has seen, Marcus Aurelius was born on 26th April 121. In 161, Marcus succeeded emperor Antonius and became the Roman emperor and ruled for two decades till his death in 180. His reign was of wars and barbarian menace, plague and million deaths of his people of Rome and Christianity taking seed as a religion. Not an easy reign there! Yet, the empire of Rome was ruled by virtue and wisdom.
Marcus and Stoicism
Marcus practiced spiritual exercises every night to make him humble, empathetic, and reminders to be generous and to be strong in life. Often, he would practice to view from the top, to get a higher level of understanding of a scenario. Marcus advises to take a step away and view from the top. This practice of being perspective gives clarity of the situations we are in and decides our response to it. Marcus went on to write one of the best books on ancient stoicism-Meditations.
As Herodian, a historian writes about Marcus, the proof of Marcus’s learning was not only the knowledge he possessed, but also his unblemished character and his calm, peaceful way of living his life.
As for Marcus, the philosophy of stoicism provided the foundation to deal with all the pitfalls he endured as an emperor of one of the most powerful empires in the world’s history.
So, there you go! The philosophy of Stoicism is preached worldwide even today, albeit under different names, banners and different sects of philosophers.
You might also like to read: 4 Cardinal Virtues- Aristotle and Plato
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From sharing her views on blogs in MoTA to being a blogger in it, Lakshmi Srinath has been writing her thoughts since 2010. Thanks to a persuasive face-reader, she took Content writing on to a next level since August 2021 with a certification in the same, from Henry Harvin Education, India. When she is not among her thoughts and words writing content, you will find her pursuing her hobby in art or gardening or just gossiping the latest on insta, with her daughter. She staunchly believes that mental wellness leads to physical wellness. Lakshmi lives in Pune, India with her daughter and husband.