The Philosophy of Stoicism

Zeno of Cyprus was once a wealthy merchant. He lost everything when he was shipwrecked in Athens around 300 BCE. Due to this single incident which happened out of his control, Zeno suddenly became poor. With not much else to do, he wandered into a book shop and became intrigued by reading about Socrates. After proceeding to study with the city’s noted philosophers, he originated the philosophy known as Stoicism.

If taken as one’s way of thinking, stoicism means the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint. But the original philosophy was more than just an attitude. The stoics believed that even though we do not always have control over the events affecting us, we can have control over how we approach things. Rather than imagining an ideal society, stoics try to deal with the world as it is while pursuing self-improvement. Nonetheless, stoicism is not considered as a self-centered philosophy nor does it encourage passivity. The idea is that only people who have cultivated virtue and self-control in themselves can bring positive change in others.

Stoicism could be elaborated with a detailed taxonomy of virtue, dividing virtue into 4 main types:

1. Wisdom- The ability to navigate complex situations in a logical, informed and calm manner

2. Temperance- The exercise of self-restraint and moderation in all aspects of life

3. Justice- Treating others with fairness even when they have done wrong

4. Courage- Not just in extraordinary circumstances but facing daily challenges with clarity and integrity

During his struggles for racial equality in South Africa, Nelson Mandela gets a chance to read Marcus Aurelius’ journals, who was one of the most famous stoic writers. After Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment and eventual victory, he stressed peace and reconciliation. He further believed that the injustices of the past couldn’t be changed, yet his people could confront them in the present and seek to build a better, more just future. One particularly influential stoic was the philosopher Epictetus, who argued that the suffering stems not from the events in our lives but from our judgements about them. Markus Aurelius also wrote, “You have power over your mind- not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength”. Therefore, simply, stoicism is acceptance and indifference.

The thing that many people miss whilst observing stoicism is that it doesn’t follow the typical standards of positive thinking that is pushed by today’s philosophy. According to the latter, one should remain positive at all times with no exception. That differs greatly from how stoicism works. For an instance, Markus Aurelius practiced something called negative visualization for a brief period of time in the morning. He would think of all that could go wrong in the day, what he would do to avoid each problem and after this allotted time, he would move on from it and go about his day not thinking about it again unless something actually goes wrong. If something did go wrong, he was already prepared for it and could better remedy the situation. Another aspect of negative visualization is to visualize the absence of an important item or person in your life, which results in sadness. But once you realize you haven’t lost anything, you will begin to appreciate the existence of that item or person more. The goal is not to imagine that bad things do not unfold but it is to see that we are far more capable of enduring them than we currently think we are.

If applied to our daily lives, stoicism could be of help in managing emotions like anxiety and anger. When you are feeling anxious about something, those who around you believe that their duty is to cheer you up. But stoics believed that any kind of consolation that aims to give the listener hope, only lifts him higher for the eventual fall. Stoicism advices us to take a different path. One must keep in mind that one will, nevertheless, be okay; one will get through it. As Marcus Aurelius said, “We are each of us stronger than we think”. Furthermore, stoics proposed that getting angry is not something one does by nature, instead it is the result of being stupid of having the wrong ideas about life. Anger stems from a place where misplaced hope gets in touch with unforeseen reality. We don’t get angry and shout every time something bad happens to us, only when it is bad and unexpected. Therefore, every tragedy should be priced in beforehand. This is where the negative visualization comes into play.

One of the fallacies that people fall into when studying stoicism is that it teaches us to avoid or neglect our emotions, which is not quite accurate. According to the philosophy, you must avoid being carried away by emotional extremes and have to make sure that you don’t eliminate or abandon emotions.

When we are furious, paranoid, depleted or sad, the philosophy of stoicism is on hand as it has been for 2000 years, to nurse us with its hugely fortifying, distinctive and unusual wisdom and friendship.

Written By: Rtr.Nadeshda Watagala, BSc economics and finance, 2nd year

Edited By: Rtr.Dulithi Jagoda, BSc. Economics and finance, 3rd Year

Design By: Rtr.Nethmi Hasna Fernando, BSc. Economics and Management, Alumni