Stoicism

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC.

Stoicism was a school of philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC. Its name is derived from the Greek stoa, meaning porch, because that’s where Zeno first taught his students. The philosophy asserts that virtue (meaning, chiefly, the four cardinal virtues of self-control, courage, justice, and wisdom) is happiness, and it is our perceptions of things—rather than the things themselves—that cause most of our trouble. Stoicism teaches that we can’t control or rely on anything outside what Epictetus called our “reasoned choice”—our ability to use our reason to choose how we categorize, respond, and reorient ourselves to external events.

– Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic

Unfortunately, less than one percent of the original Stoic writings have survived. The most important sources we have today are:

  1. Seneca’s Letters, Essays, and Dialogues: Seneca was a Roman statesman and advisor to the Emperor Nero.
  2. Epictetus’ Handbook and Discourses: Compiled by his student Arrian, Epictetus was a Greek slave who obtained freedom some time after the death of Nero. He’s the only Stoic teacher whose thoughts have survived in book form.
  3. Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations: A private Stoic diary of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was deeply influenced by Epictetus

See also