Read complete books and articles on: Stoicism

Stoicism - stōˈĭsĭzəm, school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium (in Cyprus) c.300 b.c. The first Stoics were so called because they met in the Stoa Poecile [Gr.,=painted porch], at Athens, a colonnade near the Agora, to hear their master Zeno lecture. He had studied with Crates the Cynic, and his own teaching included the Cynic adaptation of the Socratic ideals of virtue, endurance, and self-sufficiency. He added to them the explanation of the physical universe given by Heraclitus and something of the logic of Aristotle. The development and organization of Zeno's doctrines into a great system of metaphysics was the work of Chrysippus (c.280–207 b.c.), successor to Cleanthes. Among the acknowledged leaders of the Stoics in the following period was Panaetius of Rhodes, who in the 2d cent. b.c. introduced Stoicism into Rome. He and his pupil Posidonius sought to lessen the attacks of critics by mingling with the Stoic doctrines some of Plato's psychological views. Cicero, a pupil of Posidonius, was indebted to a work of Panaetius for the basis of his own treatise De officiis. The Romans, who had received Stoicism more cordially than they did any other Greek philosophy, can claim the third period as their own. To it belong the philosophers Seneca and Epictetus of Phrygia and the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism, with its roots in earlier doctrines and theories of the human person and the universe, built up an ideal of the virtuous, wise man. Regarding philosophy as divided into physics, logic, and ethics, the Stoics made logic and physics a foundation for ethics. The Stoics, especially Chrysippus, are renowned for their logic, which contains the first systematic analysis of how the truth value of a compound proposition depends upon the truth values of its components. The physical theory underlying Stoicism is materialistic. All that has reality is material. Force, which is the shaping principle, is joined with matter. The universal working force, God, pervades all and becomes the reason and soul in the animate creation. In their ethical creed, the Stoics accepted virtue as the highest good in life. They identified virtue with happiness, claiming that it was untouched by changes in fortune. "To live consistently with nature" was a familiar maxim among the Stoics. Only by putting aside passion, unjust thoughts, and indulgence and by performing duty with the right disposition can people attain true freedom and rule as lords over their own lives.

See J. M. Rist, Stoic Philosophy (1969); A. A. Long, ed., Problems in Stoicism (1971); A. A. Long and P. N. Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers, (2 vol., 1987); M. Reesor, The Nature of Man in Early Stoic Philosophy (1989).

Show Excerpt Only

14 of the Best Books and Articles on: Stoicism

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics » Read Now
by Brad Inwood. 438 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

This volume offers an odyssey through the ideas of the Stoics in three ways: through the historical trajectory of the school itself and its influence; the recovery of the history of Stoic thought; and finally, the ongoing confrontation with Stoicism. The study demonstrates how Stoicism refines...
Read More

This volume offers an odyssey through the ideas of the Stoics in three ways: through the historical trajectory of the school itself and its influence; the recovery of the history of Stoic thought; and finally, the ongoing confrontation with Stoicism. The study demonstrates how Stoicism refines philosophical traditions, challenges the imagination, and ultimately defines the kind of life one chooses to lead. Advanced students and specialists will discover a conspectus of developments in this interpretation of the Stoics and new readers will be drawn to its accessibility.
Show less
2.

Topics in Stoic Philosophy » Read Now
by Katerina Ierodiakonou. 266 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Stoicism (third century BC to second century AD) is one of the richest and most influential intellectual traditions of antiquity. Leading scholars here contribute new studies of a set of topics which are the focus of current research in this area. They combine careful analytical attention to the...
Read More

Stoicism (third century BC to second century AD) is one of the richest and most influential intellectual traditions of antiquity. Leading scholars here contribute new studies of a set of topics which are the focus of current research in this area. They combine careful analytical attention to the original texts with historical sensitivity and philosophical acuity, to provide the basis for a better understanding of Stoic ethics, political theory, logic, and physics. Whereas till recently the study of Hellenistic philosophy has been mainly a historical enterprise, these essays demonstrate that a proper treatment of Stoicism engages us in philosophical questions of considerable current relevance and interest.
Show less
3.

Determinism and Freedom in Stoic Philosophy » Read Now
by Susanne Bobzien. 446 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Susanne Bobzien presents the definitive study of one of the most important intellectual legacies of the ancient Greek world: the Stoic theory of causal determinism. She identifies the main problems that the Stoics addressed and reconstructs the theory. She discusses how the Stoics squared their...
Read More

Susanne Bobzien presents the definitive study of one of the most important intellectual legacies of the ancient Greek world: the Stoic theory of causal determinism. She identifies the main problems that the Stoics addressed and reconstructs the theory. She discusses how the Stoics squared their determinism with their conceptions of possibility, action, freedom, and moral responsibility, and how they defended it against objections and criticism by other philosophers. She shows how the Stoics distinguished their causal determinism from ancient theories of logical determinism, fatalism, and necessitarianism. Along the way she gives an authoritative account of many other related aspects of Stoic thought, including their views on the predictability of the future, the role of empirical sciences, the determination of character, and moral freedom. Bobzien's study of these central doctrines of Stoicism reveals the considerable philosophical richness and power that they retain today.
Show less
4.

Ethics and Human Action in Early Stoicism » Read Now
by Brad Inwood. 350 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

This book reconstructs in detail the older Stoic theory of the psychology of action, discussing it in relation to Aristotelian, Epicurean, Platonic, and some of the more influential modern theories. Important Greek terms are transliterated and explained; no knowledge of Greek is required.
5.

Classical Thought (Chap. 9 "Stoicism") » Read Now
by Terence Irwin. 276 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

Covering over 1000 years of classical philosophy from Homer to Saint Augustine, this accessible, comprehensive study details the major philosophies and philosophers of the period--the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Neoplatonism. Though the emphasis is on...
Read More

Covering over 1000 years of classical philosophy from Homer to Saint Augustine, this accessible, comprehensive study details the major philosophies and philosophers of the period--the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Neoplatonism. Though the emphasis is on questions of philosophical interest, particularly ethics, the theory of knowledge, philosophy of mind, and philosophical theology, Irwin includes discussions of the literary and historical background to classical philosophy as well as the work of other important thinkers--Greek tragedians, historians, medical writers, and early Christian writers. The most complete one-volume introduction to ancient philosophy available, the book will be an invaluable survey for students of philosophy and classics and general readers.
Show less
6.

The Stoics on Bodies and Incorporeals, in The Review of Metaphysics » Read Now
by Marcelo D. Boeri. 30 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...can find in the testimonies for early Stoicism, particularly in those sources hostile...point I hope to show that some views on Stoicism held by authors like Proclus...
7.

Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought (Chap. VII "The Stoics") » Read Now
by R. J. Hankinson. 506 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

R. J. Hankinson traces the history of ancient Greek thinking about causation and explanation, from its earliest beginnings through more than a thousand years to the middle of the first millennium of the Christian era. The ancient Greeks were the first Western civilization to subject the ideas of...
Read More

R. J. Hankinson traces the history of ancient Greek thinking about causation and explanation, from its earliest beginnings through more than a thousand years to the middle of the first millennium of the Christian era. The ancient Greeks were the first Western civilization to subject the ideas of cause and explanation to rigorous and detailed analysis, and to attempt to construct theories about them on the basis of logic and experience. Hankinson examines the ways in which they dealt with questions about how and why things happen as and when they do, about the basic constitution and structure of things, about function and purpose, laws of nature, chance, coincidence, and responsibility. Such diverse questions are unified by the fact that they are all demands for an account of the world that will render it amenable to prediction and control; they are therefore at the root of both philosophical and scientific enquiry. Hankinson offers a rich harvest of information and a fresh panoramic view of the origins and development of these kinds of enquiry.
Show less
8.

The Roman Mind: Studies in the History of Thought from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius (Chap. III "Stoicism") » Read Now
by M. L. Clarke. 176 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library
9.

Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy » Read Now
by R. W. Sharples. 156 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

R. W. Sharples has written a comprehensive and readable introduction to the principal doctrines of the Stoics, Epicureans and sceptical traditions. He covers the period from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to 200 A.D. Arranged by topic rather than school, the coherence of each system is...
Read More

R. W. Sharples has written a comprehensive and readable introduction to the principal doctrines of the Stoics, Epicureans and sceptical traditions. He covers the period from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to 200 A.D. Arranged by topic rather than school, the coherence of each system is emphasised whilst underlying issues are brought to the reader's attention. Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics provides an introduction to its subject for all who are interested in understanding the significance of this period of ancient thought.
Show less
10.

The Five Great Philosophies of Life (1911) (Chap. II "Stoic Self-Control by Law") » Read Now
by William de Witt Hyde. 310 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...Stoic Paradoxes 90 VI. The Religious Aspect of Stoicism 95 VII. The Permanent Value of Stoicism 101 VIII. The Defects of Stoicism 106 CHAPTER III THE PLATONIC...
11.

The Morality of Happiness (Chap. 5 "The Stoics: Human Nature and the Point of View of the Universe") » Read Now
by Julia Annas. 512 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Ancient ethical theories, based on the notions of virtue and happiness, have struck many as an attractive alternative to modern theories. But we cannot find out whether this is true until we understand ancient ethics--and to do this we need to examine the basic structure of ancient ethical theory...
Read More

Ancient ethical theories, based on the notions of virtue and happiness, have struck many as an attractive alternative to modern theories. But we cannot find out whether this is true until we understand ancient ethics--and to do this we need to examine the basic structure of ancient ethical theory, not just the details of one or two theories. In this book, Annas brings together the results of a wide-ranging study of ancient ethical philosophy and presents it in a way that is easily accessible to anyone with an interest in ancient or modern ethics. She examines the fundamental notions of happiness and virtue, the role of nature in ethical justification and the relation between concern for self and concern for others. Her careful examination of the ancient debates and arguments shows that many widespread assumptions about ancient ethics are quite mistaken. Ancient ethical theories are not egoistic, and do not depend for their acceptance on metaphysical theories of a teleological kind. Most centrally, they are recognizably theories of morality, and the ancient disputes about the place of virtue in happiness can be seen as akin to modern disputes about the demands of morality.
Show less
12.

Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics » Read Now
by Miriam T. Griffin. 524 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Professor P. A. Brunt, whose lectures on Stoicism and Politics in Michaelmas Term 1963...Seneca himself sought to demonstrate that Stoicism was a fit source of advice for...
13.

The Roman Philosophers: From the Time of Cato the Censor to the Death of Marcus Aurelius (Chap. 7 "Stoicism under Nero and the Flavians") » Read Now
by Mark Morford. 292 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

The philosophers of the Roman world were asking questions whose answers had practical effects on people's lives in antiquity, and which still influence our thinking to this day. In spite of being neglected in the modern era, this important age of philosophical thought is now undergoing a revival of...
Read More

The philosophers of the Roman world were asking questions whose answers had practical effects on people's lives in antiquity, and which still influence our thinking to this day. In spite of being neglected in the modern era, this important age of philosophical thought is now undergoing a revival of interest.Mark Morford's lively survey makes these recent scholarly developments accessible to a wide audience, examining the writings and ideas of both famous and lesser known figures - from Cato the Censor in 155 BCE to Marcus Aurelius in 180 CE. Based around extensive and fully translated quotations from the philosophical texts of the era, full consideration is given throughout to historical, political and cultural context.
Show less
14.

Philosophia Togata, I: Essays on Philosophy and Roman Society (Chap. 6 "Cicero on Stoic Moral Philosophy and Private Property") » Read Now
by Miriam Griffin, Jonathan Barnes. 312 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

In recent years, the mutual interaction between philosophy and Roman political and cultural life has aroused much interest. In this collection of papers, originally delivered at the seminar on Philosophy and Roman Society at the University of Oxford, scholars from several disciplines investigate...
Read More

In recent years, the mutual interaction between philosophy and Roman political and cultural life has aroused much interest. In this collection of papers, originally delivered at the seminar on Philosophy and Roman Society at the University of Oxford, scholars from several disciplines investigate this interaction in the late Republic and early Empire, with particular emphasis on the formative period of the first century B.C. The book presents chapters on key digures such as Posidonius, Antiochus of Ascalon, Philodemus, Lucretius, Cicero, and Plutarch, as well as general essays on "Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome", and "Roman Rulers and the Philosophic Adviser," with contributions from Julia Annas, P.A. Brunt, David Sedley, and others.
Show less