Pinciples Flashcards
What is the goal of life?
Happiness (Eudaimonia) through living in accord with nature/virtue (both human nature and the nature of the universe)
What are the 3 Stoic disciplines?
- The Discipline of Desire and Aversion
- The Discipline of Action
- The Discipline of Assent
What is virtuous for a human?
- To live according to human nature as a rational and social creature.
- To live according to universal nature by accepting everything that happens insofar as it is beyond our control to change it
What is the Discipline of Desire and Aversion?
To have desire for and attain the good (virtue) and to have aversion for the bad (vice) - through action insofar as things are under our control, and otherwise through amor fati (willing/loving acceptance)
And to view indifferent things with indifference (you can always choose to have no opinion)
(Linked to the virtues of Courage and Self-Discipline)
What is the Discipline of Action?
To act for the common good (in relationships and for all mankind), always with the reserve clause, “fate permitting”.
Linked to the virtue of Justice
What is the Discipline of Assent?
To spot impressions for what they are and evaluate them in terms of good/bad/indifferent before giving assent to them if true.
Linked to the virtue of Wisdom
What is Aretê?
Excelling in terms of one’s natural function or essential character, in a manner that’s both healthy and praiseworthy.
Stoic definition of Good
Acting according to virtue/aretê; inherently beneficial and honorable
Good things include “wisdom, temperance, justice, courage, and all that is virtue or participates in virtue” (Zeno)
Stoic definition of Bad
Acting against virtue/aretê; enslavement by attachment to external things
Bad things include “follow, intemperance, injustice, cowardice, and all that is a vice or participates in vice” (Zeno)
Stoic definition of Indifferent
Indifferent things include everything not Good or Bad, but most notably: “life and death, reputation and ill-repute, pleasure and pain, wealth and poverty, health and sickness” (Zeno)
What are the 4 cardinal Stoic virtues?
Wisdom (or prudence) (opposes folly or thoughtlessness)
Justice (or integrity, fairness, benevolence) (opposes wrongdoing or injustice)
Courage (or fortitude) (opposes cowardice)
Self-discipline (or temperance) (opposes intemperance or excess)
Define the virtue of Wisdom
Includes excellent deliberation, good calculation, quick-wittedness, good sense, a healthy sense of purpose, and resourcefulness
Define the virtue of Justice
Includes piety to the gods (or natural forces of the universe), good-hearted news or benevolence, public service, and fair dealing
Define the virtue of Courage
Includes endurance, confidence, great-heartedness, brave-heartedness, and love of work
How did Zeno describe happiness/flourishing/well-being (eudaimonia)?
A smoothly flowing or serene life, a life of freedom from being thwarted or obstructed in what we seek to achieve. This is achieved by living in harmonious agreement with Nature, and in accord with virtue.
What are the 4 “bad” passions?
Pain (mental suffering - physical is indifferent)
Fear (includes shame)
Craving (includes anger and hatred)
Pleasure (mental exultation/indulgence - physical is indifferent)
(Originates with Zeno)
What are the 3 good or healthy passions?
- Joy (delight, appreciation) for virtue (but as a potential side-effect, not as a goal)
- Rational willing (wishing) for virtue
- Rational caution (discretion) about vice
(All relating to both oneself and others and fate permitting)
Explain the mantra “Endure and Renounce”
- Endure what we irrationally fear or find aversive, with courage and perseverance
- Renounce (or abstain from) what we irrationally crave, through discretion and self-discipline
(From Epictetus)
Describe the concept of Hic et Nunc
Literal meaning: Here and Now
The past and the future are indifferent because they’re not under our control
The only thing under our control is the present moment (planning is acceptable, but not excessively and not rumination)
Describe the Stoic view of friendship
Next to achieving wisdom and goodness ourselves, having wise and good friends is the most precious thing in the whole world - a special case of an external good.
Seneca: Even the Sage wants to have friends, neighbors, and housemates, although he is nevertheless contented and self-sufficient without them.
How should we treat others?
Deal with them fairly
Act with benevolence toward them
Wish for them to flourish in accord with virtue (fate permitting)
Distribute external things among them fairly
What is Stoic Beauty?
For a thing to have excellence (aretê) most appropriate to its own nature (what makes a horse beautiful is different than what makes a necklace beautiful)
How to think about it when you disagree with or are upset by others’ words or actions?
It seemed so to them; It seems right to them
How should a Stoic love?
Love freely and without clinging to things beyond our control (like reciprocation, constancy, continued presence or good health)
What is Praemeditatio Malorum
Imagining future catastrophes as if they are happening right now. Particularly that such external events can never really be bad but are indifferent with regard to one’s essential nature as a rational being.
