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RE: Stoicism and the pursuit of a good life - A brief overview

in #life6 years ago (edited)

Before I get into the meat of my reply I would like to thank you for taking the time and effort to create this post and, while there are things that I am going to critique, it was a pleasure to read about Stoicism and may Fortune see Stoicism spread.

Contrary to abstract and metaphysical aspects of many schools of thought stoicism has since its very inception always been focussed on applying logic and reasoning to derive practical ethics.

In a sense this is correct but it does not give the full picture of Stoic thought. Stoic ethics, at its core, is a naturalistic ethics. The Encyclopedia Brittannica defines naturalistic ethics, or ethical naturalism, as "the view that moral terms, concepts, or properties are ultimately definable in terms of facts about the natural world, including facts about human beings, human nature, and human societies.". If Stoic ethics are a form of ethical naturalism then it stands to reason that studied nature in both its physical and metaphysical aspects. An example of the former is Seneca's Naturales Quaestiones and example of the latter is the Stoic concept of Logos which is described as "The cosmos itself is a living being, and its rational principle (Logos) is identified with aether, or the Stoic Fire...Consequently, God is immanent in the universe, and it is in fact identified with the creative cosmic " by Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

As such, Stoic Ethics emanate from Stoic Physics which relies on Stoic Logic as a vehicle of understanding.

However, Stoicism, when viewed by modern people, does indeed on focus on the Ethics.

Epictetus was a slave born Greek who eventually taught philosophy in Rome, founded a philosophical school and became a friend of emperor Hadrian.

While Epictetus began teaching in Rome he set up his school of philosophy in Nicopolis in Greece where he spent his life after Domitian banished all philosophers from Rome. Again, while this point is not technically incorrect it is not wholly correct either.

I have found no evidence that Emporer Hadrian and Epictetus were friends. There, however, is a connection between the two through Arrian. Arrian was the student of Epictetus who composed the Discourses and the Enchiridion, and served in public office under Hadrian (1). If you have information that shows a friendship between Hadrian and Epictetus I would be glad to review it.

Marcus Aurelius is often consired as the stoic philosopher

Do you have supporting evidence of this. I ask because I personally do not consider him to be the Stoic Philosopher. Rather I see Marcus Aurelius as the most famous practitioner of Stoicism as the Meditations were not meant to be a philosophical treatise but the private ruminations of a man who had no one to talk to.

In you essence of Stoicism, in reality it should be Stoic Ethics, you reference 'change' in the points on Will and Action. However, it should be control as both Will and Action are subject to the Dichotomy of Control. However, if we are to change something we must be in control of that thing in order to change it.

Finally, can you cite your sources.

May Fortune Favor You.