Donald J. Robertson's Blog, page 85
November 22, 2012
Stoicism in the Poetry of Persius
Persius was a Roman poet and satirist (34-62 AD), who was apparently schooled in Stoic philosophy from adolescence and explicitly refers to it in his surviving writings. He was a contemporary of the Stoic philosopher Seneca, whom he apparently met, and was friends with Seneca’s nephew, the Stoic epic poet Lucan, although his own mentor was the Stoic teacher Lucius Annaeus Cornutus.
Persius’ fifth Satire is actually dedicated to Cornutus, focuses on Stoic philosophy, and expresses his gratitude to the man who taught him “the Stoic way of life”. Some excerpts that address Stoic themes are as follows:
Has philosophy taught you to live
a good upstanding life? Can you tell the true from the specious,
alert for the false chink of copper beneath the gold?
Have you settled what to aim for and also what to avoid,
marking the former list with chalk and the other with charcoal?
Are your wants modest, your housekeeping thrifty? Are you nice to your friends?
Do you know when to shut your barns and throw them open? […]
Well then, two hooks are pulling on opposite ways.
Which will you follow, this or that? Your loyalty is bound
to vacillate, obeying and desecrating each master in turn.
Even if you once succeed in making a stand and defying
their incessant orders, you can’t say ‘I’ve broken my bonds!’
For a dog may snap its fastening after a struggle, but still
as it runs away a length of chain trails from its neck.
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: philosophy, poems, poetry, stoic, stoicism
Living the Stoic Life at Exeter University
See the link below to the Stoicism and its Modern Uses blog at the University of Exeter for the thirty-page handbook that’s been designed, and just put online this evening, for those wishing to experiment with the Stoic way of living.
Stoic Handbook: Living the Stoic Life
Filed under: News, Stoicism Tagged: philosophy, stoic, stoicism
Stoicism in Horace’s Satires
The Roman poet Horace (65- 8 BC) explicitly refers to Stoicism several times in his Satires and Epistles, and there appear to be many more Stoic influences scattered throughout his work. Horace studied philosophy in Athens but scholars disagree as to whether he was himself primarily a Stoic, an Epicurean, or an eclectic.
One of the Satires (2.7) describes a speech delivered to Horace during the festival of Saturnalia by his own slave, called Davus, who had learned Stoicism from a servant in of the (perhaps fictional) Stoic philosopher and poet Crispinus.
Who then is free? The wise man who is master of himself,
who remains undaunted in the face of poverty, chains and death,
who stubbornly defies his passions and despises positions of power,
a man complete in himself, smooth and round, who prevents
extraneous elements clinging to his polished surface, who is such
that when Fortune attacks him she maims only herself. Can you
lay claim to a single one of these qualities? A woman demands
a small fortune, bullies you, slams the door, saturates you
with cold water – and invites you back. Tear that degrading yoke from your neck! Come on, say you are free! You can’t.
For a cruel master is riding your soul, jabbing the spurs
in your weary flanks, and hauling round your head when you shy. [...]
Moreover, you can’t stand so much as an hour of your own company
or spend your leisure properly; you avoid yourself like a truant
or fugitive, hoping by drink or sleep to elude Angst.
But it’s no good, for that dark companion stays on your heels.
The first excerpt above resembles a passage from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), written over 200 years later:
You are formed of three things in combination – body, vital breath, intelligence [nous]. Of these the first two are indeed yours, in so far as you must have them in your keeping, but the third alone is in any true sense yours. Hence, if you cut off from yourself, that is from your mind, all that others do or say and all that you have done or said, and all that harasses you in the future, or whatever you are involved in independently of your will by the body which envelopes you and the breath that is twinned with it, and whatever the circumambient rotation outside of you sweeps along, so that your intellectual faculty delivered from the contingencies of destiny, may live pure and undetached by itself, doing what is just, desiring what befalls it, speaking the truth – if, I say, you strip from this ruling faculty all that cleaves to it from the bodily infuences and the things that lie beyond in time and the things that are past, and if you fashion yourself like Empedocles’:
“Sphere perfectly round, rejoicing in its well-rounded poise,”
and school yourself to live that life only which is yours, namely the present, so shalt you be able to pass through the remnant of your days free from disturbance, graciously, and at peace with your own inner daemon. (Meditations, 12.3)
Empedocles was a very ancient Pythagorean-influenced philosopher. The Stoics in general make many references to Pythagorean theories and practices, which this should probably be grouped alongside. It’s possible that Marcus had read this passage from Horace and was influenced by it. However, it may be more likely that they are both drawing upon a third, older, unnamed Stoic source, that makes use of this concept from Empedocles.
The second excerpt from Horace above, about “that dark companion”, also resembles a Pythagorean text called The Golden Verses, which is cited by both Epictetus and Seneca, and clearly played an important role in Stoicism:
Men shall you find whose sorrows themselves have created,
Wretches who see not the Good, that is too near, nothing they hear;
Few know how to help themselves in misfortune.
That is the Fate that blinds humanity; in circles,
Hither and yon they run in endless sorrows;
For they are followed by a grim companion, disunion within themselves;
Unnoticed; never rouse him, and fly from before him!
Father Zeus, O free them all from sufferings so great,
Or show unto each the daemon, who is their guide!
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: Horace, philosophy, poem, poet, stoic, stoicism
Poll: Who is your Favourite Stoic
Cast your own vote to see the previous results here or on the University of Exeter Stoicism and its Modern Uses blog.
Take Our Poll
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: philosophy, poll, stoic, stoicism
November 17, 2012
Cato’s Speech on Stoic Philosophy from Lucan’s The Civil War
From Lucan’s The Civil War
(Quotations from the translation by Susan H. Braund.)
The poet Lucan (39-65 AD) was the nephew and student of the Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger (4-65 AD), and his epic The Civil War (De Bello Civili), also known as the Pharsalia after the Battle of Pharsalus, is steeped in Stoic philosophical themes and terminology. It describes the Great Roman Civil War (49-45 BC) between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey.
In the Pharsalia, Cato the Younger (95-46 BC) is portrayed as a Stoic hero or warrior-sage, because of his defence of the Roman Republic and defiance of the tyrant Julius Caesar. In Book Two, Cato is introduced as follows by Brutus:
‘Of Virtue long ago expelled and banished from all lands
you are now the sole support, and Fortune will not with any whirlwind
strike her from you: I call on you, as I hesitate and waver,
to guide and reinforce me with your resolute strength.’
Then Cato’s character is described by Lucan:
This was the character and this the unswerving creed
of austere Cato: to observe moderation, to hold to the goal,
to follow nature, to devote his life to his country,
to believe that he was born not for himself but for all the world.
In his eyes to conquer hunger was a feast, to ward off winter
with a roof was a mighty palace, and to draw across
his limbs the rough toga in the manner of the Roman citizen of old
was a precious robe, and the greatest value of Venus
was offspring: for Rome he is father and for Rome he is husband,
keeper of justice and guardian of strict morality,
his goodness was for the state; into none of Cato’s acts
did self-centred pleasure creep in and take a share.
In Book Nine, Cato marches his beleaguered troops through the deserts of Africa, where they endure many hardships, and suffer many casualties. However, they are inspired to persevere in the face of great adversity by Cato’s example. At one point, Cato’s army come across the only temple to Jupiter (or Zeus), under the name of Ammon, in the surrounding lands. A general who had defected from Caesar’s army, Labienus, urges Cato to consult the oracle about their fate in the civil war. However, Cato refuses to do so, because of his Stoic principles, and instead becomes a kind of oracle himself, delivering a short speech on Stoic doctrine to reproach and inspire his men.
He, filled with the god he carried in his silent mind,
poured forth from his breast words worthy of the shrine:
’What question, Labienus, do you bid me ask? Whether I prefer
to meet my death in battle, free, to witnessing a tyranny?
Whether it makes no difference if our lives be long or short?
Whether violence can harm no good man and Fortune wastes her threats
when virtue lines up against her, and whether it is enough to wish for
things commendable and whether what is upright never grows by its success?
We know the answer: Ammon will not plant it deeper in me.
We are all connected with the gods above, and even if the shrine is silent
we do nothing without God’s will; no need has deity of any
utterances: the Creator told us at our birth once and always
whatever we can know. Did he select the barren sands
to prophesy to a few and in this dust submerge the truth
and is there any house of God except the earth and sea and air
and sky and excellence? Why do we seek gods any further?
Whatever you see, whatever you experience, is Jupiter.
Let those unsure and always dubious of future events
require fortune-tellers: no oracles make me certain,
certain death does. Coward and brave must fall:
it is enough that Jupiter has said this.’ So declaring
he departed from the altars with the temples credit intact,
leaving Ammon to the peoples, uninvestigated.
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: Cato, Lucan, philosophy, poem, Roman, stoic, stoicism
November 14, 2012
Video: Stoic Philosophy and Psychotherapy Workshop at Exeter University
Video from Exeter University October 2012
See the Stoicism and its Modern Uses blog at the University of Exeter for more information…
Donald Robertson is the author of The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy (2010) and the forthcoming Teach yourself Stoicism (in press).
Filed under: News, Stoicism Tagged: cbt, philosophy, stoic, stoicism
November 12, 2012
The Stoicism of Descartes
Excerpt from The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Copyright © Donald Robertson, 2010. All rights reserved.
Writing in the 17th century, Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, describes how his famous epistemological meditations led him to develop a moral code, based upon three central maxims. The first two of these refer to respect for custom and consistency in life. However, Descartes account of his third maxim provides a striking expression of his assimilation of certain Stoic ideas, in the third chapter of his Discourse on Method:
My third maxim was always to try to conquer myself rather than fortune, and to change my desires rather than the order of the world, and generally to accustom myself to believing that there is nothing that is completely within our power except our thoughts, so that, after we have done our best regarding things external to us, everything that is lacking for us to succeed is, from our point of view, absolutely impossible. And this alone seemed to me sufficient to prevent me in the future from desiring anything but what I was to acquire, and thus to make me contented. For, our will tending by nature to desire only what our understanding represents to it as somehow possible, it is certain that, if we consider all the goods that are outside us as equally beyond our power, we will have no more regrets about lacking those that seem owed to us as our birthright when we are deprived of them through no fault of our own, than we have in not possessing the kingdoms of China or Mexico, and that, making a virtue of necessity, as they say, we shall no more desire to be healthy if we are sick, or to be free if we are in prison, than we do to have a body made of a material as incorruptible as diamonds, or wings to fly like birds.
This is one form of the Stoic contemplation upon necessity and determinism. It is clear, as the ancient philosophers observed, that nobody really feels pity for an infant because it cannot walk or speak, although we may feel differently about an adult who is dumb or lame. People do not become frustrated because they cannot grow wings and fly but they do often envy the wealth and possessions of others. Accepting that something is outside of our control often seems to mean that we give up our desire for it but people often seem to torture themselves with goals that, although possible for other people or for them at another stage in life, are not currently within their power to achieve (Epictetus, Discourses, 1.21). For example, many people wish they could change the past, or wish that they were rich and famous, demands which are either illogical, physically impossible, or unrealistic given the limitations of their current circumstances. However, Descartes continues:
But I admit that long exercise is needed as well as frequently repeated meditation, in order to become accustomed to looking at everything from this point of view; and I believe that it is principally in this that the secret of those philosophers [such as Socrates and the Stoics] consists, who in earlier times were able to free themselves from fortune’s domination and who, despite sorrows and poverty, could rival their gods in happiness. For occupying themselves ceaselessly with considering the limits prescribed to them by nature, they so perfectly persuaded themselves that nothing was in their power but their affection for other things, and they controlled their thoughts so absolutely that in this they had some reason for reckoning themselves richer, more powerful, freer, and happier than any other men who, not having this philosophy, never thus controlled everything they wished to control, however favoured by nature and fortune they might be.
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: Descartes, philosophy, stoic, stoicism
Example Stoic Philosophy Regime
Modified Excerpt from The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (2010)
Copyright © Donald Robertson, 2010. All rights reserved.
It is difficult, probably impossible, to do justice to the variety of therapeutic concepts, strategies, and techniques recommended by Stoic philosophers in an outline such as this. Nevertheless, I hope that by attempting to do so in relatively plain English, I will help to clarify their “art of living” somewhat, in a manner that may be of service to those who wish to make use of classical philosophy in modern life, for the purposes of self-help or personal development. It probably requires the self-discipline for which Stoics were renowned to follow a regime like this in full, and I imagine that the intention was to begin by attempting one step at a time. I certainly don’t propose this as an evidence-based treatment protocol but rather as an attempt to reconstruct the Stoic regime for discussion.
Mornings
1. Meditation
1.1. Take time to calm your mind and gather your thoughts before preparing for the day ahead.
1.1.1. Be still and turn your attention inward, withdraw into yourself, or isolate yourself from others and walk in silence in a pleasant and serene environment.
1.1.2. The View from Above. Observe (or just imagine) the rising sun and the stars at daybreak, and think of the whole cosmos and your place within it.
2. The Prospective Morning Meditation
2.1. Mentally rehearse generic precepts, e.g., the “Sovereign” general precept of Stoicism: “Some things are under our control and others are not”.
2.1.1. “Follow Nature”, i.e., will what God or Nature wills, accept the here and now, “Do not seek for things to happen as you will but will them to happen as they do and your life will go smoothly”, and,
2.1.2. Follow your own nature as a rational animal, excel in practical wisdom and the other virtues, “Make good use of your impressions”, i.e., monitor your thoughts and forcefully question their logic and objectivity where it is necessary to do so.
2.2. Mentally rehearse any potential challenges of the day ahead, and the specific precepts required to cope wisely with them, perhaps making use of the previous evening’s self-analysis.
2.2.1. Praemeditatio Malorum. Periodically contemplate catastrophe and death, rehearse facing such calamities “philosophically”, i.e., with rational composure; contemplate the uncertainty of the future and the value of enjoying the here and now. Remember you must die, i.e., that as a mortal being each moment counts and the future is uncertain.
3. Contemplation of the Sage
3.1. Periodically contemplate the ideal of the Sage, try to put his philosophical attitudes into a few plain words, what must he tell himself when faced with the same adversities you must overcome? Memorise these precepts and try to apply them yourself. Ask yourself, “What would someone with absolute wisdom do in these situations?” Adopt a role-model such as Socrates, or someone whose wisdom and other virtues you admire.
Throughout the Day
1. Self-Awareness (prosoche).Continually bring your attention back to the use you are making of your mind, your mental activity in the here and now, during any given situation.
1.1. Assent. Remember the difference between what is under your control and what is not, in any given moment. Separate your thoughts from the real facts. Stick to the facts and avoid using rhetoric to distort your own emotions. Remain objective. Question each impression that enters your mind, especially those that are accompanied by distress, asking yourself whether it is true or false, i.e., objectively true, or an emotive distortion of things. Tell yourself, when faced with an unhelpful or distressing thought: “This is just a thought and not at all the thing it claims to represent.” Remember what is under your control and what is not.
1.2. Desire. Serenely accept the given moment as if you had chosen your own destiny, “will your fate” after it has happened. Accept the hand which fate has dealt you. View indifferent things with indifference. Contemplate the transience of material things, how things are made and then destroyed over time, and the temporary nature of pleasure, pain, and reputation. Think of the essence of things, and what they really are. Transfer your desires and aversions from external things on to your own judgements and actions.
1.3. Action. Take full responsibility for your own judgements and actions. Continually remind yourself to question each thought and ask whether it is true or false, healthy or unhealthy. Does each thought contribute to your long-term happiness and well-being, or not? Reject false or unhealthy impressions immediately, and replace them with more healthy and accurate ones. Pursue your own enlightened self-interest, seeking genuine well-being and happiness. Try to act as if you were already a Sage. Recall your principles often and affirm them to yourself in a word, or a short phrase. Ask yourself throughout the day: “What virtue have I been by nature given to deal with this particular situation?”
2. Natural Affection (Philostorgia)
2.1. Affinity & Philanthropy. Contemplate the virtues of both your friends and enemies. Empathise with everyone. Try to understand their motives and imagine what they are thinking. Praise even a spark of strength and wisdom and try to imitate what is good. Ask yourself what errors might cause those who offend you to act in an inconsiderate, unhappy or unenlightened manner. Love mankind, and wish your enemies to become so happy and enlightened that they cease to be your enemies.
2.2. Cosmic Consciousness. Think of yourself as part of the whole cosmos, indeed imagine the whole of space and time as one and your place within it. Imagine that everything is inter-connected and determined by the whole, and that you and other people are like individual cells within the body of the universe.
Evenings
1. The Retrospective Evening Meditation
1.1. Mentally review the whole of the preceding day three times from beginning to end, and even the days before if necessary.
1.1.1. What done amiss? Ask yourself what mistakes you made and condemn (not yourself but) what actions you did badly; do so in a moderate and rational manner.
1.1.2. What done? Ask yourself what virtue, i.e., what strength or wisdom you showed, and sincerely praise yourself for what you did well.
1.1.3. What left undone? Ask yourself what could be done better, i.e., what you should do instead next time if a similar situation occurs.
2. Relaxation & Sleep
2.1. Adopt an attitude of contentment and satisfaction with the day behind you. (As if you could die pleased with your life so far.) Relax your body and calm your mind so that your sleep is as tranquil and composed as possible, the preceding exercise will help you achieve a sense of satisfaction and also tire your mind.
CONTINUE TO REPEAT THIS PROCESS EVERY DAY
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: philosophy, stoic, stoicism
Example Stoic Therapeutic Regime
Modified Excerpt from The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (2010)
Copyright © Donald Robertson, 2010. All rights reserved.
It is difficult, probably impossible, to do justice to the variety of therapeutic concepts, strategies, and techniques recommended by Stoic philosophers in an outline such as this. Nevertheless, I hope that by attempting to do so in relatively plain English, I will help to clarify their “art of living” somewhat, in a manner that may be of service to those who wish to make use of classical philosophy in modern life, for the purposes of self-help or personal development. It probably requires the self-discipline for which Stoics were renowned to follow a regime like this in full, and I imagine that the intention was to begin by attempting one step at a time. I certainly don’t propose this as an evidence-based treatment protocol but rather as an attempt to reconstruct the Stoic regime for discussion.
Mornings
1. Meditation
1.1. Take time to calm your mind and gather your thoughts before preparing for the day ahead.
1.1.1. Be still and turn your attention inward, or isolate yourself from others and walk in silence in a pleasant and serene environment.
1.1.2. The View from Above. Observe (or just imagine) the rising sun and the stars at daybreak, and think of the whole cosmos and your place within it.
2. Premeditation
2.1. Mentally rehearse generic precepts, e.g.,
2.1.1. “Follow nature”, i.e., accept the here and now, and,
2.1.2. “Make good use of your impressions”, i.e., monitor your thoughts and forcefully question their logic and objectivity where it is necessary to do so (Epictetus).
2.2. Mentally rehearse any potential challenges of the day ahead, and the specific precepts required to cope wisely with them, perhaps making use of the previous evening’s self-analysis.
2.3. Periodically contemplate catastrophe and death, rehearse facing such calamities “philosophically”, i.e., with rational composure; contemplate the uncertainty of the future and the value of enjoying the here and now. Remember you must die, i.e., that as a mortal being each moment counts and the future is uncertain.
3. Contemplation of the Sage
3.1. Periodically contemplate the ideal of the Sage, try to put his philosophical attitudes into a few plain words, what must he tell himself when faced with the same adversities you must overcome? Memorise these precepts and try to apply them yourself. Ask yourself, “What would someone with absolute wisdom do today?” Adopt a role-model such as Socrates, or someone whose wisdom and other virtues you admire.
Throughout the Day
1. Self-Awareness (prosoche). Continually bring your attention back to the use you are making of your mind, your mental activity in the here and now, during any given situation.
1.1. Assent. Remember the difference between what is under your control and what is not, in any given moment. Separate your thoughts from the real facts. Stick to the facts and avoid using rhetoric to distort your own emotions. Remain objective. Question each impression that enters your mind, especially those that are accompanied by distress, asking yourself whether it is true or false, i.e., objectively true, or an emotive distortion of things. Tell yourself, when faced with an unhelpful or distressing thought: “This is just a thought and not at all the thing it claims to represent.” Remember what is under your control and what is not.
1.2. Desire. Serenely accept the given moment as if you had chosen your own destiny, “will your fate” after it has happened. Accept the hand which fate has dealt you. View indifferent things with indifference. Contemplate the transience of material things, how things are made and then destroyed over time, and the temporary nature of pleasure, pain, and reputation. Think of the essence of things, and what they really are. Transfer your desires and aversions from external things on to your own judgements and actions.
1.3. Action. Take full responsibility for your own judgements and actions. Continually remind yourself to question each thought and ask whether it is true or false, healthy or unhealthy. Does each thought contribute to your long-term happiness and well-being, or not? Reject false or unhealthy impressions immediately, and replace them with more healthy and accurate ones. Pursue your own enlightened self-interest, seeking genuine well-being and happiness. Try to act as if you were already a Sage. Recall your principles often and affirm them to yourself in a word, or a short phrase. Ask yourself throughout the day: “What virtue have I been by nature given to deal with this particular situation?”
2. Oneness.
2.1. Empathy & Philanthropy. Contemplate the virtues of both your friends and enemies. Empathise with everyone. Try to understand their motives and imagine what they are thinking. Praise even a spark of strength and wisdom and try to imitate what is good. Ask yourself what errors might cause those who offend you to act in an inconsiderate, unhappy or unenlightened manner. Love mankind, and wish your enemies to become so happy and enlightened that they cease to be your enemies.
2.2. Cosmic Consciousness. Think of yourself as part of the whole cosmos, indeed imagine the whole of space and time as one and your place within it. Imagine that everything is inter-connected and determined by the whole, and that you and other people are like individual cells within the body of the universe.
Evenings
1. Retrospection
1.1. Mentally review the whole of the preceding day three times from beginning to end, and even the days before if necessary.
1.1.1. Ask yourself what mistakes you made and condemn (not yourself but) what actions you did badly, do so in a moderate and rational manner.
1.1.2. Ask yourself what virtue, i.e., what strength or wisdom you showed, and sincerely praise yourself for what you did well.
1.1.3. Ask yourself what could be done better, i.e., what you should do instead next time if a similar situation occurs.
2. Relaxation
2.1. Adopt an attitude of contentment and satisfaction with the day behind you. (As if you could die pleased with your life so far.) Relax your body and calm your mind so that your sleep is as tranquil and composed as possible, the preceding exercise will help you achieve a sense of satisfaction and also tire your mind.
CONTINUE TO REPEAT THIS PROCESS EVERY DAY
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: philosophy, stoic, stoicism
November 10, 2012
The Nature of the Good in Stoicism
Copyright © Donald Robertson, 2012. All rights reserved.
In a sense, the most fundamental question posed by ancient Stoicism was: “What is the nature of the good?” Wisdom, the essential virtue, was sometimes said to consist in having a firm grasp of the difference between the good, the bad, and the indifferent, and the ability to apply this knowledge to specific situations. However, the Stoics defined the good in a number of different ways. It’s clear that virtue or “excellence”, in accord with nature, is the chief good in life, particularly the cardinal virtue of wisdom. However, the Stoics also repeatedly equate the good with the “beneficial” (or “helpful”), the “profitable”, the “honourable” (or “beautiful”), and other terms.
Indeed, both Stobaeus and Diogenes Laertius report that for the original Stoics the good was understood primarily as “benefit” (ôpheleia), for example, in the sense that a physician might “benefit” or “help” his patient, or an army might help or support an ally. This may particularly be of interest to those, like myself, who wish to relate Stoicism to modern psychological therapy. What the Stoics meant by someone “benefitting” themselves, in accord with their essential nature as a rational animal, may arguably be interpreted as meaning something not to what we mean by helping (or “healing”) someone psychologically, through therapeutic processes.
Hence, the good is most generally “that which is such as to benefit”, and that the bad is understood as “that which is such as to harm”. Elsewhere, Diogenes Laertius says very clearly “For just as heating, not cooling, is a property of the hot, so benefitting, not harming, is a property of the good” (to agathou to ôphelein, ou to blaptein). And he explains: “To benefit [ôphelein] is to set in motion or sustain in accordance with virtue; whereas to harm is to set in motion or sustain in accordance with vice.” Hence, according to Diogenes Laertius, the virtues are good, and the additional qualities of every good (agathon) are given as:
Beneficial or helpful (ôphelimon), “because it is such as to benefit”
Advantageous or expedient (sumpheron), “because it brings such things as we are benefitted by when they occur”
Morally binding, a duty (deon), “because it holds together in cases where this is needed”
Profitable, repaying more than was expended (lusiteles), “because it pays back what is expended on it, so that it exceeds in benefit a mere repayment of the effort”
Useful for things (chreisimon), “because it makes available the use of a benefit”
Well-used or artfully-used (euchrêston), “because it renders the use of it praiseworthy” (by contrast, the indifferents are typically said to be capable of being used either well or badly)
Honourable or beautiful (kalon), “because it is symmetrical with its own use” also “because it has all the features sought by nature or because it is perfectly symmetrical” and “the honourable uniquely means that which makes those who possess it praiseworthy; or a good which is worthy of praise; otherwise: what is naturally well suited for its own function; otherwise: that which adorns [its possessor], [as] when we say that only the wise man is good and honourable.”
Worth choosing or to be chosen (haireton), “because it is such that it is reasonable to choose it”
Just or fair (dikaion), “because it is consonant with law and instrumental to a sense of community”
Stobaeus gives a similar list, saying that “all good things are”:
Beneficial as opposed to harmful
Well-used as opposed to ill-used
Advantageous as opposed to disadvantageous
Profitable as opposed to unprofitable
Virtuous as opposed to base
Fitting as opposed to unfitting
Honourable as opposed to shameful
“…and there is an affinity to them” and with bad things “there is no affinity to them”
However, he goes on to say, once more, that “benefit” is the fundamental sense of the good in Stoicism.
The definition of the good is, moreover, divided into three senses by the Stoics, as follows, according to both Diogenes and Stobaeus:
Virtue: “The good is that from whichbeing benefited is a characteristic result”
Virtuous actions: “It is that according to which[being benefited] is a characteristic result, for example, action according to virtue”
Virtuous men: “It is he by whom [being benefited is a characteristic result]; and ’by whom’ means, for example, the virtuous man who participates in virtue.”
According to Diogenes Laertius, goods are also defined as internal, external, or neither:
In the soul: Virtues and virtuous actions
External: Having a virtuous fatherland and friend, and their happiness
Neither: Someone in and for himself to be virtuous and happy
Goods are also final, instrumental, or both:
Instrumental: “a friend and the benefits derived from him”
Final: “confidence and prudence and freedom and enjoyment and good spirits and freedom from pain and every virtuous action are final”, but he implies below that the primary final good is “happiness”
Both: “The virtues are both instrumental and final goods. For in that they produce happiness they are instrumental goods, and in that they fulfil it, such that they are part of it, they are final goods.”
Filed under: Stoicism Tagged: good, philosophy, stoic, stoicism
