What Are the 4 Main Ideas of Stoicism?
What are the 4 main ideas of Stoicism, and how do they apply to our daily lives? In this article, we’ll discuss Logike, Virtue, Assent, and Natural attachment to what is appropriate. We’ll also explore Logike in more detail. Taking these ideas on board will help us to better understand Stoicism’s most important ideas. You may be surprised by what you find!
Logike
Logike is one of the four main ideas of Stoicism. According to this philosophy, animals and plants cannot act morally. Therefore, humans can only act morally when they are acting in accordance with their higher ideals. The Stoics believed that humans must act according to their higher moral ideals. To achieve this, they must avoid actions that are contrary to the Stoics’ ethical code.
Upon understanding this concept, Stoics believe that the soul is essentially comprised of four faculties: the rational faculty, the instincts, and the impulses. The commanding faculty consists of our rational and material sense organs. The impulses and impressions of our senses are our thoughts when we are mature rational animals. As such, Stoics are able to distinguish between what is false and what is true by observing this distinction.
Stoics do not believe that the mere possession of cognitive impressions is knowledge. This is only assent to an individual fact. To acquire true knowledge, one must have secure, firm, and systematic knowledge of all the possible cognitions. A weak assent is ignorance. In addition, opinion or belief in general do not fall under the categories of knowledge. In other words, assumptive knowledge is not a mistake but a misunderstanding.
Besides the Logike, Stoics also consider ‘time’ and “place’ to be corporeal. The latter are corporeal while sayables and imaginary things are subsistent. This distinction makes Stoic assimilation to modern materialism very difficult. They also hold that all existent things are either corpului or particulars. Thus, the Stoics call universals ‘figments of the mind.
As for the Stoic way of life, the philosophy of Stoicism teaches people to maximize their positive emotions while minimizing negative ones. The Stoics believe that the ultimate goal is freedom from suffering, and that a life lived in accordance with this principle is the best possible way to achieve this. Ultimately, Stoicism encourages people to participate in human affairs and develop their virtues. It is not a religion, but rather a way to make better decisions in life.
Virtue
Virtue is a very ancient idea in Stoic philosophy. In fact, its origins are thought to date back to the time of the Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato. These ideas are not direct translations of any modern-day definition of virtue, but have been derived from them nonetheless. The virtues of Stoicism are, therefore, not limited to any one area of expertise. Virtues range from honesty, piety, justice, and fortitude to temperance and courage.
The basic principle of Stoicism is that existence is an active process. Everything is either alive or dead, whether corporeal or inanimate. Neither of these things exist without the other three. The cosmos is alive with the power to do and say things. This principle allows humans to experience the pleasures and pains of life, and makes them more capable of living a good life. The Stoics are materialists, so they reject the idea of a void or empty space.
The soul is a collection of faculties, and each part has its own specific role. The commanding faculty is the most important of these faculties, and is connected with our physical sense organs. The pneuma is also associated with the rational faculty. Impressions of things are impressions of our senses. We experience these emotions as thoughts in mature rational animals. Thus, the soul is the highest faculty of the soul, whereas the intellect is the foundation of our worldly existence.
The Stoics believe in the importance of temperance and self-control. Temperance is a virtue in Stoicism, and it is often equated with moderation. Temperance, on the other hand, is a virtue in Stoicism that refers to controlling our bad habits. In other words, it is about regulating your emotions. In addition to self-control, temperance is also about the ability to control our emotions.
According to Stoic philosophy, virtue refers to the ability to be right and act on what is good for others. Virtue is a very important aspect of a person’s life, and it is more important than wealth, health, and excellence of character. So, if you’re thinking about the virtue of a person, it’s a great virtue. But how do you apply it?
Assent
Assent is one of the four main ideas of Stoicism. The Stoics rejected the incorporeal status of the Platonic Forms. Their positive nominalist alternative is less clear. While some texts suggest that predications are conceptual, others point to a disguised conditional. It is unclear whether Stoics developed a version of predicate nominalism. But in either case, assent is a key Stoic idea.
The Stoics do not believe that the mere having of cognitive impressions is knowledge. Their definition of knowledge says that a person has ‘knowledge’ if he or she has assented to a particular fact. Real knowledge requires secure, firm, and systematic wholes of cognitions. Thus, weak assent to a cognitive impression is ignorance. In addition, opinions or beliefs in general do not fit into the category of knowledge.
Assent is one of the four main ideas of Stoicism. In the Stoic view, action is not a spontaneous reaction of the soul; it must be prompted by assent. Therefore, an object or event cannot be acted upon without assent. This is in contrast to the view of the Epicureans and Academic Skeptics. Assent does not necessarily lead to action. Instead, it is the result of a conscious decision to act on an impression.
According to the Stoic view, all existence is cyclical and self-creating. This means that the cosmos is eternally creating and destroying itself. The Stoics believe that humans, animals, and plants do not possess moral capacities. However, when a person is consciously aware of this, they can act morally. This is not a moral theory, but a philosophical one.
Historically, Stoics embraced the philosophy of Augustine, the first Christian pope. Augustine criticized the Platonists and chose the Stoics. Later, Evagrius adapted Stoic ideas of freedom from passions into the idea of seven deadly sins. Aristotle was not a Stoic, but he did adopt it from other philosophical schools.
Natural attachment to what is appropriate
Stoics have a strong belief that our actions and choices are based on our natural attachment to what is appropriate. As a result, the virtues of temperance, practical wisdom, and self-discipline can be considered a part of our nature. Although Stoics are based on natural principles, they do not dismiss the influence of classical philosophy. Moreover, these virtues have the added advantage of being modern and practical in nature.
These ideas are a result of the ancient Roman philosophy. The last good emperor of the Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius, wrote the Meditations, a book privately written for himself. Today, this philosophy is associated with a laid-back attitude and is a popular subject in literature and film. In the movie “Gladiator”, Richard Harris plays Marcus Aurelius, while Alec Guinness portrays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1964 film The Fall of the Roman Empire.
Stoic ethics was a mixture of ethical systems. The Stoics believed that virtue was the only good and sufficient for eudaimonia in all circumstances. In addition, they favored rational preference over other things, and did not confuse those with intrinsic value. Moreover, they believed that natural attachment to what is appropriate gives us the freedom to choose our way of living, and the right to live a life worth living.
Stoics are also often thought of as being emotionally impassive. Although they express feelings, they do not act out of them, and behave in a rational manner despite their emotions. This is not to say that stoics are cold-hearted and insensitive, but that they domesticate emotions in order to live a more fulfilling life. The four main ideas of Stoicism include the virtues of courage, self-discipline, and self-control.
While many of these ideas seem similar, the four main ideas of Stoicism are quite distinct. While ancient Stoicism was anti-empirical, modern Stoics have modified their ideas in light of new scientific findings. The philosopher Chrysippus, for instance, defended the idea that the heart is the seat of intelligence. This idea went against the evidence of the Hellenistic period and earned him the scorn of Galen.
