The
Hellenistic period began with Alexander the Great taking the throne of
Macedon in 336 B.C., and it lasted to the death of Cleopatra VII of
Egypt in 30 B.C. Alexander's successful invasion of the Persian Empire
has been noted as a starting point. The period came to a close after the
Near and Middle East, between Rome and the Iranian kingdom of Parthia
was divided.
Stoicism
was a new philosophical movement that began during the Hellenistic
period. Stoicism got its name from the porch in the Agora at Athens were
people gathered and held lectures. Zeno of Citium (334-262 B.C.) is
credited with being the founder of stoic philosophy. It is, however, the
follow-up to materialism and Plato. The ultimate goal of stoicism is
wisdom. The idea of the philosopher had been of a supreme power which
was a principle rather than a person (Bryant, p. 28).
The main edict given by stoicism was that one should be free from all
worldly demands, and achieve wisdom by recognizing that one needs to
harmonize personal desires and nature. Being frugal and unconcerned is
the worldview of the stoic person. The stoic theory of knowledge turns
about the enquiry after a criterion or standard by which what is true in
our notions may be distinguished from what is false (Zeller, p.74). The
Stoics did hold the position that emotions like fear and envy either
came from, or out of, false thinking, and that a person who would be
considered a sage was one who had attained moral and intellectual
perfection and would not experience this type of faulty thinking. Stoics
also adhered to the idea that the soul was a blank slate and that
character was developed experientially from the outside world.
The
fundamental idea of self-discipline has its roots in stoic philosophy.
Epictetus being a student of Zeno helped firmly implant stoicism into
the Roman culture. Of all of the Greek philosophical system transplanted
to Rome, Stoicism was probably the most successful (Albert, p. 66). The
Stoics identify as a moral people those who live in accordance with the
dictates of reason (Albert, p. 67). They actually believe that
happiness does not depend on having material wealth or success, but on
the character of the individual is based on rationality or logic arising
from knowledge. The origins of knowledge, in the Stoic system, enter
the mind through the senses. This is the where the blank-slate theory
comes in to the picture. The knowledge which enters through the senses
is inscribed on the blank-slate.
From
the ethical perspective, virtue is a good in itself. Good consists of
acting in accordance with nature. Therefore, stoicism is somewhat
deterministic in its approach because it says that a person can do
nothing but conform to nature, and when there is a balance between
virtue and nature wisdom is obtained. The stoic teaches that the
universe is governed by absolute law without exceptions. They also teach
that the essential nature of humans is reason. Seneca had a famous
saying which seems to sum their ideas up, “Live according to nature.”
Epicurean
philosophy, unlike the Stoic philosophy which embodied forms and ideas,
was born from Atomism. Atomism basically says that 2 thing make up the
universe, moving atoms and void (a giant black nothingness) which is
basically a radical materialism. Epicurean philosophy is a mutually
dependent system which says that the goal of human life (happiness,
resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance), a
pragmatic theory of knowledge, an account of nature built on a form of
atomistic materialism, and a naturalistic explanation of evolution, that
spans the creation of the world to the appearance of human
civilization. To put their system into layman’s terms is means they
believe happiness equals pleasure. Epicureans believe that they should
never do something without considering the pleasure it will yield. The
level of pleasure received has a direct correlation on if it should be
done. The real flaw in their thinking is that is pleasure equals the
absence of pain, then to not be living would be preferable to life at
all. According to Epicurus, it is not the state of the body, but the
state of the mind. Bodily pleasure is of short duration, and has much of
a disturbing character about it (Zeller, p. 451). However, Epicureans
should be consistent in their beliefs and they
are not. If they are consistent with their principles, (they) cannot
deny that the bodily pleasure is the earlier form, and likewise the
ultimate source, of all pleasure (Zeller, 451).
A
mark of Epicureanism is friendship. The Epicurean philosopher places a
high value on friendship because it is one of the greatest methods of
achieving pleasure. Friendship provides the greatest security. They
believe that a life without friends is lonely and full of trouble.
The
basis for the Epicurean thought process is very empiricist and
anti-skeptical. They believe that all of our knowledge comes though the
senses, similar to the Stoics, and that we can trust the senses when
used correctly. Unlike the Stoic belief that virtue is a good in and of
itself, Epicureans believe that virtue contributes to happiness. There
is a huge difference in this belief between the schools of thought.
Virtue, or doing right because it is right (Stoicism), and virtue, or
doing right because it makes one happy (Epicureanism) can often lead to
very divergent places. If it makes me happy to take your car, am I doing
the right thing? The Epicurean type of virtue, more often than not,
leads to plain old hedonism, which means that the only good is found in
what brings me pleasure, and anything else of value is only a tool to
use to bring me the pleasurable experience. Epicurus, however, offered
some idiosyncratic views about pleasure which is supposed to lead to a
virtuous life without as much hedonistic influence. Hedonistic behavior is often attributed to Epicurean philosophy, but it is a common misconception.
In The Extant Remains, Bailey offers a final thought from Epicurus that gives insight to his eternal outlook,
“Some
men throughout their lives gather together the means of life, for they
do not see that the draught swallowed by all of us at birth is a draught
of death. Against all else it is possible to provide security, but as
against death all of us mortals alike dwell in an unfortified
city...[But] I have anticipate thee, Fortune, and entrenched myself
against all thy secret attacks. And we will not give ourselves up as
captives to thee or any other circumstance; but when it is time for us
to go, spitting contempt on life and on those who here vainly cling to
it, we will leave life crying aloud in a glorious triumph-song that we
have lived well. We must try to make the end of the journey better than
the beginning, as long as we are journeying; but when we come to the
end, we must be happy and content…Meditate therefore on these things and
things akin to them night and day by yourself, and with a companion
like yourself, and never shall you be disturbed waking or asleep, but
you shall live like a god among men. For a man who lives among immortal
blessings is not like a mortal being” (Albert, p. 63).
Crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem
It is crueller to be always afraid of dying than to die
Albert, D. P. (1984). Great Traditions In Ethics. Belmont: Wadsworth, Inc.
Bryant, J. H. (1866). The Mutual Influence of Christianity and The Stoic School. London: Macmillan and Co.
Zeller, D. E. (1870 ). Stocis, Epicureans, and Sceptics. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
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