Stoicism
Stoicism is a Hellenistic eudaemonic philosophy which I am certain that for many this will not be much of a clarification. As such, let us decorticate this mouthful, shall we? Hellenistic, is derived from the ancient greek word Hellas which is the original word for Greece. Hellenistic philosophy is the philosophy that was developed between 323BCE and 31BCE. For the astute amongst you, this indeed corresponds with respectively Alexander The Great's death and the emergence of the Roman Empire.
Eudaemonia is a form of wellbeing which is centralised on meaning and self-realisation. Etymologically, it consists of the words “eu” (“good”) and “daimōn” (“spirit”) and can be encompassed as a human's welfare, happiness, prosperity and blessedness.
The word Stoicism originates from Stoa Poikile which is a famous Ancient Agora of Athens where Stoics met and teached their philosophy.
Furthermore, it can be divided into 3 major phases of Stoicism where the 2 first phase are also commonly referred to as the Greek Stoicism while the last phase finds place in the Roman era, hence Roman Stoicism.
After using the word "philosophy " already multiple times (exactly 5 time FYI), I feel the urge to tranquil the anxious among those of you readers who encountered snobs, claiming to be philosophers or those who had the misfortune to engage into endless battles of semantics and wordplay by declaring that Stoicism is a practical philosophy meant to be applied to everyday's life.
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Essay on Stoicism: How a +2000 years philosophy can act as a modern framework to a better life
"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." — Seneca
What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is a Hellenistic eudaemonic philosophy which I am certain that for many this will not be much of a clarification. As such, let us decorticate this mouthful, shall we? Hellenistic, is derived from the ancient greek word Hellas which is the original word for Greece. Hellenistic philosophy is the philosophy that was developed between 323BCE and 31BCE. For the astute amongst you, this indeed corresponds with respectively Alexander The Great's death and the emergence of the Roman Empire.
Eudaemonia is a form of wellbeing which is centralised on meaning and self-realisation. Etymologically, it consists of the words “eu” (“good”) and “daimōn” (“spirit”) and can be encompassed as a human's welfare, happiness, prosperity and blessedness.
The word Stoicism originates from Stoa Poikile which is a famous Ancient Agora of Athens where Stoics met and teached their philosophy.
Furthermore, it can be divided into 3 major phases of Stoicism where the 2 first phase are also commonly referred to as the Greek Stoicism while the last phase finds place in the Roman era, hence Roman Stoicism.
After using the word "philosophy " already multiple times (exactly 5 time FYI), I feel the urge to tranquil the anxious among those of you readers who encountered snobs, claiming to be philosophers or those who had the misfortune to engage into endless battles of semantics and wordplay by declaring that Stoicism is a practical philosophy meant to be applied to everyday's life.
Stoic Superstars
Zeno is considered as the founder of the Stoic school which was heavily inspired by Eastern Mediterranean philosophies. He was pupil of the Cynic (tutored by Crates) and Socratic philosophy (tutored by Polemo and Stilpo). Serendipitously, Zeno combined the best of both worlds to create the 3 topoi which will be discussed later on. As is often the case in beliefs, a whole slew of philosopher came after Zeno with different interpretations and understandings. Chrysippus brought an end to much of the debates and built the solid foundation of Stoicism by introducing novel ideas in logic and by defining virtues as individual branches of wisdom. The next, arguably, Stoic heroes were found a couple of decades later in Rome. Athens, with as goal to soften diplomatic tensions with Rome, sent the heads of its dominant schools to Rome. Back then, the dominant schools were the Stoics, the Academics (founded by Plato) and the Peripatetics (found by Aristotle). Diogenes of Seleucia, who represented the Stoics made quite an impressions amongst the Roman plebs and elite paving the immigration of philosophy from Athens to Rome which then greatly influenced contemporary Western philosophy.
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