Essential to an understanding of Stoic philosophy and ethics is to first grasp their ontology. Stoicism ascribes to a monist corporeal view that the only bodies exist, and that therefore only bodies can cause anything - this is an extremely important concept. This view however, was a source of much debate for the early Stoics especially after Plato's dualism became popular. The issue was in placing abstract concepts within this system: thoughts, concept, time. Clearly these are not bodies as you cannot act on them or be acted upon by them, for example you cannot physically be pushed by "bravery" or "justice". However we still very much feel they exist, and so Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, proposes the concept of subsistence. There are four categories of "incorporeals" which subsist, but do not fully exist: time, place, void, and lekta (lekta, or sayables, includes concepts like bravery and justice). These incorporeals are not made of "stuff" and are therefore causally inert, neatly providing a solution to the aforementioned problem.
For the Stoics, the good life is what they call "eudaimonia". Eudaimonia is achieved by living in accordance with nature. Although we will explore what this actually means, there is a pervasive theme in a lot of Stoic texts that this idea is quite intuitive; we can sort of feel when we are doing the "right" thing, whether you wish to call that conscience or something else. In one of the most well known quotes of the book, Marcus Aurelius makes the following observation in Book X of his Meditations: "To stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one". That having been said, let us further examine this idea.
The good is only things that benefit the user in every situation: these are virtues, or what the Stoics call arete. Next in the ranking of goods are indifferents, things such as health and money, which have axia. We should express a preference towards these indifferents, as long as it is appropriate (oikeion) for us; however, regardless of whether we obtain these indifferents if we act with virtue we will be happy.
When we perform an action in accordance with nature, it is called a proper function. These are either unconditional (taking care of your body) or conditional (cutting off your hand to stop yourself being forced to steal by a tyrant). Once we perform a proper function with virtue and reason, it is a fully correct action.
Virtue is a perfection of one's rational nature, and is a single state. When we are virtuous, we express all the virtues at once (For Stoics, the core four are prudence, justice, courage, moderation), for if you are lacking in a virtue you cannot be described as virtuous; in the same way, it does not matter if you are in 1 metre or 200 metres of water: you are drowning all the same.
Misunderstandings of Stoicism in pop-philosophy really start here. Stoicism is often portrayed as an emotionless, apathetic philosophy: we will call this "little s stoicism". Good, healthy, "Big S" Stoicism does not advocate for emotional suppression but rather emotional control; as events occur, you will constantly be flooded by rational impressions in the form of emotions, but you can control whether or not you assent to these impressions, and in doing so you control your reactions to situations. Emotions, or passions, must be controlled, productive, and proportional. Galen presents an apt analogy of running down a hill: although an initial emotion may start you at a gentle and controlled speed, the momentum might carry you away into unvirtuous behaviour. It is important to remember that evil is only that which directly threatens the good, and therefore any emotions about something being "bad" is a false value judgement and must be treated with ultimate scepticism.
The Stoic sage must cultivate apatheia, or a lack of unhealthy passions, in order to cultivate ataraxia: the state of being unperturbed. Pyrrho tells a story of being on a ship in a storm, and while the crew panic and run around frantically, a pig sits on the deck completely unbothered. In the same way, we must aim to be like the pig and not allow rational impressions to perturb us. It should be noted too that some passions are particularly beloved by certain Stoics; for example, Epictetus writes many times about affection, especially for ones own family, as being a very good thing.
In this article we have covered a very brief overview of Stoic philosophy, building from their ontology to their ethics and their understanding of the eudaimonia, and hopefully along the way clarified some common misconceptions. If you enjoyed this content and wish to support me, confessions of undying love and fealty may be addressed to my email.