A Little History of Philosophy (Little Histories)

by Nigel Warburton

The name ‘Stoic’ came from the Stoa, which was a painted porch in Athens where these philosophers used to meet. One of the first was Zeno of Citium (334–262 BC). Early Greek Stoics had views on a wide range of philosophical problems about reality, logic and ethics. But they were most famous for their views on mental control. Their basic idea was that we should only worry about things we can change. We shouldn't get worked up about anything else. Like the Sceptics, they aimed for a calm state of mind. Even when facing tragic events, such as the death of a loved one, the Stoic should remain unmoved. Our attitude to what happens is within our control even though what happens often isn't. At the heart of Stoicism was the idea that we are responsible for what we feel and think. We can choose our response to good and bad luck. Some people think of their emotions as like the weather. The Stoics, in contrast, thought that what we feel about a situation or event is a matter of choice.