Stoic philosophy

If you are a calm person and in control of your feelings, you do not show how you feel by crying, laughing and screaming, not being shaken too much by life's accidents and going along with everything ; You embody Stoic philosophy, an ancient philosophical discipline established by Zeno the Stoic in 300 BC.

Stoic philosophy flourished for about 400 years in ancient Greece and Rome. It was one of the most important philosophical schools of that era, as it was a refuge for people if the winds of life turned them against them, or they were insulted, whether at work or in society. Of all the philosophies, Stoicism remains the most relevant and immediately useful for our troubled and troubled times, serving as a guide to confronting anxiety and pain.

Stoic philosophy is not just a set of beliefs or moral claims, but rather a way of life, involving continuous practice and training, and includes: the practice of logic, Socratic dialogue, self-dialogue, meditation on death, and a type of meditation aimed at training a person to care about survival in the present.

The goal of Stoic philosophy

Stoic philosophy seeks to control reason over emotion, freedom from feelings and their impact on our lives and decisions ; That is, Stoicism teaches indifference and a cold, negative reaction to any external event, no matter its size, and equanimity in the face of life's many problems.

The philosophical teachings of Stoicism emphasize the moral aspect of the individual, through the practice of the four basic virtues (derived from Plato's teachings): wisdom, courage, justice, and moderation. The Stoic teachings are also similar to the Buddhist moral teachings, which are based on the Four Noble Truths:

• The reality of suffering.
• The origin of suffering is in passion and desire.
• Happiness is freedom from emotions.
• Moral self-control and self-discipline are the means by which an individual becomes free from suffering.

As a result, unhappiness and suffering are the result of ignorance and lack of control over our emotions, so we can avoid the many faces of suffering by following and rehearsing these philosophical teachings, the Stoic ideal says: “Live according to nature.” Living according to nature and reason is with cosmic order, and acknowledgment of common cause and the fundamental value of all people, and thus it promoted equality, and denied the importance of external differences such as rank and wealth in social relations. Thus, this philosophy produces an unbiased and self-disciplined thinker.

History of Stoic philosophy

Stoic philosophy dates back to Greek civilization. In 301 BC, it was founded by the Phoenician merchant Zeno of Citium. For anyone listening to the debate, we could say it was a "street philosophy" for ordinary people, not aristocrats.

From its inception until nearly five centuries ago, Stoicism was one of the most influential and respected schools of philosophy, and was one of the most popular civic disciplines in the West, pursued by the rich, the poor, the weak, the powerful, but over the centuries—nearly two thousand A year - Basic knowledge once faded from view and was almost forgotten.

However, in the 1970s Stoicism became popular again, mainly because it served as the philosophical inspiration for CBT ; Because of authors such as William Irvine and Ryan Holiday who wrote on philosophy.

Despite the scarcity of sources for the study of Stoic philosophy, several ancient documents from teachers and practitioners of this philosophy have survived, the most important of which are:

• Marcus Aurelius: One of the last of the 5 best emperors of the Roman Empire, he was called the most powerful man on earth, his private diaries and musings were collected in a book that became a reference in Stoic philosophy.
• Epictetus: a Roman Stoic philosopher, who had his own philosophical school. Many eminent personalities, such as Marcus Aurelius, were disciples of him, and his notes and thoughts were recorded in a pamphlet containing ideas on Stoic philosophy.
• Seneca: He was the tutor and private advisor to the Roman Emperor Nero, and one of the best playwrights of the time, many of his letters (of which few have reached us), personal at the time, which constituted a great source of Stoic philosophy.

What are the downsides of Stoic philosophy?

Adopting the Stoic principle is good if you are going through a bad time or a certain crisis, or suffer from conflicting ideas, because Stoic philosophy increases the solidity of your thought and the strength of your mind, but in our practical life, Stoic thought may not be the desired thought.

The problem with this philosophy is that it depends on focus to control our thoughts and actions, and in this chaotic, dynamic world, we may not find this required focus, and another major aspect of this philosophy is the arbitration of reason over emotion, you may benefit from this philosophy if you live alone, but Within this society full of knowledge the subject may become more difficult.