Stoicism

Founded by Xeno in the 4th Century BC and flourished in Greece and Rome and won [raise for its ideas of inner solitude fortitude and forbearance.

Stoicism took iots name for the Stoure or Collande where Xeno and his followers discussed their ideas. Presents us with a coherent system logic physics and ethiscs. It argues materialistic and deterministic cosmos. At the conceptual level is composwed of passive matter interpenetrated by active divine reason at the observaervable levelrthis passive matter takes the form of eath and water and the dinive reason takes thre form of fire and air which is known as puma. This divine reason organizes everthing for the best. The cosmos only has a definite time span . When it comes to the end it get transmiutes itself creative ration fire from whichj the next oidentical cosmos is formed. Ut has to be identical because it was perfoect the forst time. We are part of a greater whole and our hasppinest and virtue lie rest on acknolwledgment of that. Of we can live in accordanxce of the plan then and accepta is then wi are living in harmonty woith nature

At the time these ideas are coiming to fruition we are hundres year after the Plato's acadenmy and after the coming to power of Philip of Macedonia and ad Alexander The Great. Given those unstable times and the disintegration of the Polis people will trying to seek solace by thinking of a greater plan

At the same times the Cynics and Epicurians and thinking along similar lines. All of these schools were teaching you how you could leave a live of Virtue and seek happiness

Diogenes the Cynic took Platonism very seriously the lved in a tub etc. His rich pupil cretes gave away his money and couild say now he can care about no one. Xeno meets crertes looking someone who still followd Socrates. He tells Xeno to carry Lebtil soup and breaks it so its dribbling dow ihis helps. He tells him not to be ashamed Stoisim is cynicism foir the shy

Should we be poersuing wealth and follow the norm of society and. Xeno tries the Cynioc route (Cretes). Xeno was a too conventional to folw cynisiciosm. He fould a way to folw the Socratic value system but nevertheless pursue a conventional life. Even though wealth are not intrincioally gfood depending how we use it but it is our instinct for birth to follow these golags. You need to conform to nature's rational plan. For instance we should aim to be healthy but if you become dssicjk there maybe some higher reason for it. e.g. To experience ill health and then help other people, like a Florence Nightingale figure