Stoicism
Hellenistic and imperial Roman periods
A tradition that treats virtue as decisive and understands emotions in terms of our judgments.
Historical context
Zeno began teaching in Athens around 300 BCE. Chrysippus systematised the school, which reached the Roman world in genres as varied as letters, lectures, and personal notes.
Overview
An impression can arise without our choosing it. Assent expresses how we accept or examine it. This distinction helps explain how Stoics could affirm universal causation while attributing responsibility for a person’s response.
Main claims
Virtue constitutes moral good. Health and security can be preferable and worth pursuing, even though they do not by themselves make a life good.
Judgment and well-being
Virtue suffices for happiness and external goods are morally indifferent.
Interpretation for comparison · Stoicism · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Freedom and causation
Stoic action theory combines universal causation with responsibility for assent.
Interpretation for comparison · Stoicism · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Debates and nuances
Stoics distinguished moral good from external goods it is reasonable to prefer.
The assessment compares only the positions documented in this entry.