Stoicism in History & Modern Life

Dermot M. Griffin reflects on the sources and relevance of this ancient wisdom.

-  DERMOT M. GRIFFIN

Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in interest in Stoicism. Founded by Zeno of Citium around the third century BC, Stoicism is one of the many great schools of Hellenistic thought, and it is still relevant for several reasons. The root word for the school comes from the Greek stoa, referring to the porch that Zeno gave his lectures on in Athens marketplace. This is no accident: Zeno wanted his tenets to be useful for everyone. Stoicism is not a philosophy well suited to the college or the academy, since it does not emphasise abstract thinking or setting up hypothetical scenarios and models. Rather it is the ordinary person's philosophy, the philosophy of traders, athletes, soldiers, and blue collar workers.For the Stoic, philosophy is pragmatic; it is meant to help the individual navigate through real world situations. The fact that the person in the street can apply the principles of this system to everyday life is one reason it is so appealing. The nature of Stoicism (and perhaps of all philosophy) is best described in the words of the Stoic Epictetus: “Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man… For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life” (Discourses 1:15). Paraphrasing something else Epictetus said, the lecture hall is a hospital, and all who enter it are in a state of pain (Discourses 3:8).