Many people have rediscovered the ancient philosophy of Stoicism in the modern age. Its principles make it perfectly designed to help people in the 21st century.
But if you haven’t begun practicing Stoicism, it could simply be because you don’t know enough about the philosophy. After all, learning a new philosophy can be a hard, time-consuming task.
But I’m here to make your job easier.
In this article, I am going to give you five of the most important facts about Stoicism.
It all started with a shipwreck
The philosophy of Stoicism has a unique origin. Zeno — who was the first Stoic — was on a trading route from Phoenicia to Peiraeus in around 304 BC. The ship that Zeno was on wrecked, and he lost almost all of his valuable possessions. Even though this would be considered a negative event by most, it actually birthed the philosophy of Stoicism.
Because of this shipwreck, Zeno found himself in Athens, where he stumbled upon a bookstore. In this Athens bookstore, Zeno read Xenophon Memorabilia. He was inspired by this writing and sought out fellow philosophers in Athens. After learning more, Zeno began to teach philosophy from his porch. Zeno’s philosophy was initially declared “Zenoism”, but it morphed into Stoicism over time.
While the Stoic philosophy has certainly grown and developed a lot over the years, there is no doubt that Zeno — and his shipwreck — have to be credited with starting the philosophy of Stoicism.
Stoicism has four virtues
While the Stoics preached many things, there were four virtues that they held in the highest regard:
Courage
Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome during the Antonine Plague. Marcus — being one of the most wealthy and powerful people in Rome — could have left. But he didn’t. He stayed and fought for his city. Despite death running rampant, he still governed his people.
What Marcus displayed during the plague was courage. And it is what the Stoics believed we must all have.
Wisdom
Without wisdom, there is no philosophy. When you break down philosophy to its roots, it is really just wisdom. This is what philosophy is. The Stoics would encourage us to gather as much wisdom as possible, and then apply it to our daily lives.
Temperance
Temperance is all about finding the perfect balance. Too many times we judge the extreme version of something. The Stoics would stress the importance of being in the middle, of finding the sweet spot right in between two extremes.
I recently went in depth on temperance, calling it The Self-Improvement Virtue.
Justice
Many of the Stoics believed that of the four virtues, justice was the most important one.
In today’s world, justice can be one of the most complicated virtues. But when you boil it down, justice is very simple. Justice is simply about acting with the common good in mind. If you act with the common good in mind, then you are acting justly.
There were many Stoic philosophers
Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus are the most popular Stoic philosophers. And while these might be the main three, there were many other philosophers who practiced Stoicism. I mean, look at this: List of Stoic philosophers!
If you are interested in learning more about all the different Stoic philosophers, I would recommend reading Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman’s Lives of the Stoics.
Stoics should not be stoic
The word ‘stoic’ is defined as “A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.” Because of this definition, it is a common misconception to think that this is a main principle of Stoicism. But in reality, this could not be further from the truth.
Stoicism isn’t about stuffing down and repressing our emotions. It is about being in control of our emotions, particularly destructive ones.
Stoics should not be emotionless creatures who are unbothered by everything. Quite the opposite actually. A Stoic should be so Intune with their own emotions that they are able to understand when their emotions are having negative consequences on the rest of their life.
Stoicism can be applied to modern day life
Even though the philosophy of Stoicism was created a really long time ago, its practices are still very applicable today. Think of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus’ Meditations was never actually meant to be published as a book. Meditations was actually just Marcus’ journal. It was where he kept his thoughts.
We too can engage in the Stoic ritual of journaling. Simply grab a pencil and some paper and then start writing.
Stoic practices are not the only thing that perfectly applies to modern life. What the Stoics wrote — even though it was written long ago — still translates to present day. Look through these quotes and see how applicable they still are:
Ten of my Favorite Epictetus Quotes