What Is Stoicism?

Stoicism is a Hellenistic school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens around 300 BCE. It teaches that virtue is the only genuine good and that living well depends on the quality of our judgments and actions rather than on possessing wealth, status, health, or other external circumstances. Stoics describe the goal as living in agreement with nature, understood through reason and our social nature. Later Stoic writers and teachers include Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. 斯多葛主义 is the standard Chinese name for Stoicism.

Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions.

— Enchiridion, Chapter 1 (Epictetus)

Key Takeaways

  • Stoicism places virtue at the center of the good life: external conditions do not make a person morally good or bad.
  • Stoic ethics examines judgment, assent, agency, social nature, and living according to nature.
  • The phrase ‘dichotomy of control’ is a modern label for an important distinction in Epictetus; it is not a promise of total control over events or emotions.

Understanding Stoicism

Stoic philosophy is preserved through more than one author and period. Its traditional divisions of logic, physics, and ethics belong to a connected philosophical system, while later Roman writers present the school through their own literary and historical settings. Memento mori and premeditatio malorum can describe themes in Stoic sources, but they should not be treated as the defining doctrines of the school. Modern secular Stoicism and psychological analogies are later readings, not substitutes for the ancient system.

What do Stoics believe?

Stoic ethics treats virtue as the only genuine moral good. Health, wealth, reputation, and other external circumstances do not make a person morally good or bad, although Stoics can rationally prefer some externals over others. Judgment and assent matter: an impression is not automatically the final judgment a person must accept. Human beings are rational and social, so Stoicism includes justice and obligations toward others. It is broader than calmness, resilience, productivity, mental toughness, or controlling emotions.

What is the Stoic dichotomy of control?

‘Dichotomy of control’ is a modern label commonly used for Epictetus's opening distinction in the Enchiridion between things that are ‘up to us’ and things that are not. Epictetus locates agency especially in judgment, choice, desire, and aversion, while body, property, reputation, and office are examples of things not wholly up to us. The distinction separates responsibility for conduct from control of an external result; it does not say that everything is either fully controllable or irrelevant.

Does Stoicism mean suppressing emotions?

No. Ancient Stoic theory treats destructive passions in relation to judgment and assent, but it does not define the goal as becoming emotionless. Stoic texts distinguish problematic passions from appropriate or rational affective responses.

Stoicism vs being “stoic”

Lowercase modern ‘stoic’ often means enduring difficulty without showing emotion. Philosophical Stoicism is much broader: an ancient system involving ethics, logic, physics, virtue, judgment, and living according to nature.

Main Stoic philosophers

Zeno of Citium founded the school in Athens; Cleanthes and Chrysippus developed early Stoic philosophy. Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius are later Roman Stoic writers and teachers whose surviving works preserve different parts of the tradition.

Related Concepts

  • Epictetus — Textual context for what is up to us, judgment, and assent.

Sources

Further Reading

Related Guides

Not sure where to begin?

Compare the questions Stoicism and Taoism ask about pressure, judgment, and change with the Taoism or Stoicism reflective quiz.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stoicism?

Stoicism is an ancient Hellenistic philosophy centered on virtue, judgment, agency, social conduct, and living according to nature. Its traditional divisions of logic, physics, and ethics belong to a broader philosophical system.

What does the Stoic dichotomy of control mean?

It is a modern label for Epictetus's distinction between what is up to us in judgment and action and what is not wholly up to us, such as the body, property, reputation, office, and external results.

Does Stoicism mean suppressing emotions?

No. Ancient Stoic theory connects destructive passions with judgment and assent, while distinguishing them from appropriate or rational affective responses. Stoicism does not set emotionlessness as its simple goal.

Also Known As

Chinese: 斯多葛主义. 斯多葛主义, Stoa, Stoic Philosophy