Stoic School

Stoic School The Stoic School was founded in 300 BC by Zeno of Citium. It is passed on by practicing Stoics.

The purpose of this tax deductible non-profit organization is to engage in any lawful activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of Delaware. In addition the purpose of this non-profit organization is to provide religious training and general education in the classical Stoic Tradition. This corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious or ed

ucational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Not withstanding any other provision of the Articles of the Certificate of Incorporation, this corporation will not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law.)

06/09/2024

After friendship is formed you must trust, but before that you must judge.

Seneca

Letters to a Stoic

Letter 3

Contrary to today's popular understanding of "judge not lest you be judged," the modern Stoic understands the benefits of judging one another. A Stoic might give a first impression that is clinical or judgmental. But the Stoic is simply building deep friendships. Seneca explains what the mentally healthy Stoic will do, "Think for a long time whether or not you should admit a given person to your friendship. But when you have decided to do so, welcome him heart and soul, and speak as unreservedly with him as you would with yourself."

06/02/2024

"Rhetoric is the science of speaking properly."

Chrysippus

Quoted by Quintillian

2.292

More is required in human relations than truth. In Stoicism, logic (truth) is divided into rhetoric and dialectic. Modern politicians and families do more uniting when they follow the Stoic approach and make their words both logical to the mind and appealing to the heart. Stoics appeal to logic with attractive words. It is only proper to address other humans, each one a fellow part of the universal soul, with accurate words of truth in delightful sayings. Make truth attractive.

05/27/2024

I will show you a love potion made without drug or herb or witch's spell. It is this: if you wish to be loved, love.

Hecato

Quoted by Seneca

Letters to a Stoic

Letter 9

Quoting from the Stoic philosopher Hecato of Rhodes (c. 100 BC), Seneca explains that, while Stoics do not hanker after lost friendships, they do prefer not to lose them. Similar to a sculptor carving another statue right away if he loses one, wise Stoics with skill in the art of making friends will fill the place of someone they have lost. Seneca also quotes from the Stoic philosopher Attalus (c. AD 25) to show that it is more of a pleasure to make a friend than to have one, "in the same way as an artist derives more pleasure from painting than from having completed a picture."

05/19/2024

"No one can lead a happy life if he thinks only of himself and turns everything to his own purposes."

Seneca

Letters to a Stoic 48

Stoicism creates a worldview that draws people together in stronger bonds of friendship. Seneca gives one reason for this when he adds, "If a thing is in your interest, it is also in my own interest." Seneca summarizes this idea by saying, "If any matter that affects you is no concern of mine, I am not a friend." This mutual concern demonstrates how the happy Stoic is not unfeeling, or apathetic, regarding friendships.

05/11/2024

"Strangers come from Zeus."

Epictetus

Discourses 3.11.4

Referring to all things that come into our lives that are beyond our control as coming from Zeus, Epictetus illuminates the Stoic view of hospitality. Students of Stoicism treat strangers with good manners and treat friends and family even better.

05/05/2024

"Women have received from the gods the same reasoning power as men."

Musonius Rufus

Lectures 3.1

In the modern age, it is good to remember how Musonius Rufus long ago indicated that every human gender is endowed with the power of reason. One proof is the fact we all communicate together. To Musonius, this meant that all of us are united in the same capacity for virtue and the same accountability for vice.

04/28/2024

"You see how you yourself admit that logic is necessary, since without it you cannot even determine whether it is necessary or not."

Epictetus

Discourses 2.25.3

One third of Stoicism is logic. Logic is the faculty of the mind that enables it to consider itself. The other two thirds of Stoicism are physics and ethics. Epictetus therefore explained in one sentence that logic is necessary but not sufficient for a life of virtue. It is Epictetus's simple explanation that is so characteristic of Stoicism. Unlike the sophist arguments of modern philosophies designed to explain away a life of virtue, Stoicism's eternal appeal is its simple common sense.

04/21/2024

You will deserve respect from everyone if you will start by respecting yourself.

Musonius Rufus

Stobaeus 3.31.6

Chapter 31:On Respect

Musonius Rufus demonstrates one of the great advantages Stoics have in mental health. First, he wisely directs the student's attention on deserving respect rather than getting respect. Not everyone will give their respect to the virtuous person, but the virtuous person will deserve the respect of everyone. Second, Musonius Rufus locates the source of good mental health within one's own choice. Self-respect is the way to be respected by others who have good mental health themselves.

04/14/2024

"Zeno described the end as living consistently, for those who live in conflict [with themselves] are unhappy."

Stobaeus, verifying the ancient Stoic foundation for many ideas of modern psychology.

Anthology

2.75.11-76.15

Stobaeus lived sometime around or after the Fifth Century AD. He compiled an important collection of extracts from ancient Greek writings. While very little of Zeno's teachings remain, what remains is remarkable. In placing the origin of unhappiness squarely on inner conflict, Zeno laid the foundation for many ideas of modern psychology. In Stoicism, inner conflict occurs when a person thinks or acts out of harmony with reason, or reality. Long before Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other modern methods, Zeno helped individuals build confidence and become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so they could view stressful situations more accurately and act more productively.

04/06/2024

"The Stoics declare [...] a craftsman like fire [...] embracing in itself all the spermatikoi logoi in accordance with which the particulars come into being according to fate."

Aetius, documenting the Stoic anticipation of genetics

Placita

1.7.33

In the late First Century or the early Second Century, Aetius recorded the teachings of the philosophical schools as they related to natural philosophy. Even from such an early date, the biology of the Stoics anticipated our modern understanding of genetics in an important way. According to H. A. K. Hunt (1976) A Physical Interpretation of the Universe: The Doctrines of Zeno the Stoic, "We have here an hypothesis not unlike that of the modern geneticists who hold that in one tiny cell are contained all the instructions necessary for the development of the animal destined to be formed from it. The diversity of things and creatures is explained, in the Stoic theory, by the multiplicity of the spermatikoi logoi".

03/31/2024

"[The] force of gravity makes all things tend to the world's center which is also lowest in what is spherical."

Cicero, documenting the Stoic understanding of physics

Tusculan Disputations

5.69

Cicero, while not a Stoic himself, faithfully documented Stoic teachings as well as those of the other schools of philosophy in his day. In his Tusculan Disputations, Cicero detailed the Stoic emphasis on finding what is true in physics, what is ethical, and what is logical. This "threefold progeny of the soul" played a pivotal role in the acquisition and possession of Stoic virtue. While detailing Stoic understanding of physics, Cicero proved that First Century Stoics understood that gravity pulled all things to the center of the earth and that the earth was a sphere. Modern physicists are more Stoic than they might realize.

03/24/2024

"The one and only thing which is indispensable for happiness is knowledge of what is really good and of what is really bad."

Chrysippus

Fragments

3.674

Chrysippus taught that, while a wise person would know what is truly good and what is truly bad, the person would live as if "wealth, reputation, and health were really goods" (Fragments 3.698). Non-Stoics sometimes have difficulty grasping the Stoic balance between knowing what is good and simultaneously acting as if other things were goods. Calling such things, "preferred indifferents," Stoics maintain balance by always realizing wealth, reputation, and health do not cause happiness but can serve as tools for good by the wise person when they are obtained through virtues such as wisdom, justice, and self-control.

03/17/2024

"Do not respond to wrongs as a beast would and do not be implacable towards those who offend but provide them with a model of decent behavior."

Musonius Rufus

Lectures

10.6

Stoicism to Musonius Rufus simply meant being "civilized and humane." In our hyper-offended society today, everybody will benefit from being more Stoic. Responding to offense with a model of decent behavior is still the best policy. Both the offender and the one offended can come away with a better temperament from a display of decency. The West has long been known for its diverse and cosmopolitan culture. It is no wonder that Stoicism has led the way in showing how to remain civilized and humane while embracing such diverse perspectives.

03/10/2024

The human being, alone of the creatures on earth, is the image of the divine and has the same virtues as the divine.

Musonius Rufus

Lectures

17.1

Musonius Rufus said the best thing to have on hand during old age was the very same thing it was best to have on hand during one's youth - living the right way and in accordance with nature. To Musonius, this meant the opposite of living for pleasure. He considered it self-evident that "we did not come into existence for pleasure." We see this by the fact that many people lack peace of mind even when they indulge in pleasure, while the virtuous person maintains tranquility. Musonius implores the young and the old to act divine by forgoing the pleasure of vice.

03/02/2024

Pay no heed to what anyone says about you, for this, in the end, is no concern of yours.

Epictetus

The Handbook

50

Ignoring praise and criticism can be an invaluable asset for the student of Stoicism. This is a timeless piece of wisdom. Not only are the words of others beyond our control, but they are also of little value in our pursuit of virtue. Epictetus adds to Socrates' words about how valuable it is to have others examine our life and ideas, when it helps us improve our life, but adds that we ignore their praise or criticism about our rules for life.

02/25/2024

"The difference between the Epicurean and our own school is this: our wise person feels his troubles but overcomes them, while their wise person does not even feel them."

Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Letter 9, On Self-sufficiency

Contrary to the stereotypical stoic, Seneca makes clear authentic Stoics feel the various passions. It is the true Epicurean who does not feel negative emotions. The difference between the average person and a Stoic, is simply that the Stoic overcomes the passions. This allows the Stoic to act according to reason. In all of this, Seneca agrees with Epictetus, who said, "I should not be unfeeling like a statue, but should preserve my natural and acquired relations." (Discourses 3.2.4) Epictetus places feeling the passions and overcoming them in the second of the three main areas of Stoic study, namely the area dealing with the impulse to act and not to act. Seneca writes about a realistic wise person who is nevertheless good and noble.

02/18/2024

"Life is like a play; what matters is not how long the acting lasts, but how good it is."

Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Letter 77, On What Matters in Life

Although all of us have the gift of life, not all are good at living. Perhaps more than other philosophies of life, Stoicism gives a way to measure if one has mastered the art of life. To Seneca, the art of living comes down to what is honorable. In the same letter, he wrote, "An ordinary journey will be incomplete if you come to a stop in the middle of it, or anywhere short of your destination, but life is never incomplete if it is an honorable one." The destination of human life is honor, according to Seneca.

02/11/2024

"Cultivate an asset which the passing of time improves."

Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Letter 15, On Good Health

Speaking about the mind and spirit, Seneca wrote, "Only a moderate amount of work is needed for it to thrive and develop." In contrast to bodily health and material investments, work dedicated to virtue pays compounding interest with no diminishing results. The dividend we receive from wisdom and a good spirit is guaranteed, is long-term, is enormous, and costs only a small principal investment. The Stoic is the wisest of investors.

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The Stoic School was founded in 300 BC by Zeno of Citium. Since then, the School, its Reasoning, its way of life, and its insight into things spiritual and things physical has been bequeathed generationally with fidelity.

The purpose of this non-profit organization is to provide unadulterated Stoic School reasoning and training. Modern sciences and social sciences continue to corroborate the School’s teachings on the innate Reason in all matter, the conflagration, Cosmopolitanism, the role of Right reason in governing passions, the necessity of individuals and cities to live in harmony with nature if they are to thrive, and many others. Now, as always, the Stoic School is vital for those who would flourish while governing themselves or others

Legally, the purpose of this tax deductible non-profit organization shall be to engage in any lawful activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of Delaware.

This corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious or educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Not withstanding any other provision of the Articles of the Certificate of Incorporation, this corporation will not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law.)