Do Stoics Have Emotions?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Do Stoics have emotions? The goal of Stoic thought isn’t to minimize negative feelings, but see the world as it is and cultivate virtue. Ward Farnsworth notes this in The Practicing Stoic: View the Stoics not as against feeling or emotion but as in favor of seeing the world accurately, living by reason, and staying detached from externals.

Are Stoics emotionless?

Many people think Stoicism is merely a synonym for “emotionless” or, at most, a dusty ancient-Greek philosophy. While, yes, Stoicism originated with such ancient illuminati as Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, it’s far beyond “emotionless.”

Do Stoics express emotion?

Stoics give emotions their due . We just don’t believe we owe them a lot. Stoics do have a distinct approach to the emotional life. For instance, we don’t expect emotions to be good guides for behavior.

What does it mean to be emotionally Stoic?

Do Stoics express happiness?

Rather Stoicism teaches us that we are personally responsible for our happiness , and it’s up to us to create happiness through our actions. Stoicism is a practical approach to living, one that doesn’t shy away from the reality that life is hard, and adversity is in its its very nature.

How do Stoics handle emotions?

Stoics such as Seneca understood the dichotomy of control so viscerally that they were able to use it to regulate their emotions, by reappraising the situation from something awful, to something uncontrollable, and therefore to be accepted .

Do Stoics believe in God?

Stoics do not believe in a God who helps us or cares about us. Stoics do not believe in a religion, but they believe in rational thinking and philosophy. Stoics understand everything exists to help each other, but because of this they are able to make their own choices without fear of divine punishment or favor.

Can Stoics fall in love?

Yes, Stoics fall in love, but without abandoning logic . To them, love is a strong form of friendship with a romantic component. Stoics value their loved ones and are concerned with their well-being and prosperity. They help their partner in living a better life and inspire them to a more virtuous existence.

Can Stoics be passionate?

The Stoics used the word to discuss many common emotions such as anger, fear and excessive joy. A passion is a disturbing and misleading force in the mind which occurs because of a failure to reason correctly. For the Stoic Chrysippus the passions are evaluative judgements .

How do Stoics deal with depression?

Enabled by Stoic habits, a depressive can turn this overly critical self-awareness into a strength . Having a clear-eyed vision of things as they really are (without losing tranquility) is quite an asset. Seeing reality rather than confirming only what we wish to see is a skill others would have to acquire.

Are Stoics psychopaths?

A stoic person who is not responding to the slings and arrows of life may look like a psychopath because they do not respond in a normal manner . A person with high EQ also appears to be immune to feelings. Psychopathy a condition where a person is unfeeling or unable to feel emotions/feelings.

Are Stoics cold?

Stoicism is often considered to be unfeeling and cold , or lacking sensitivity and compassion toward humanity in some way. If you look up synonyms for “stoic,” you will find apathetic, detached, indifferent, and uncaring.

Is Stoicism a coping mechanism?

Vulgar stoicism has become a coping mechanism in late capitalism . You take out what you can use and drop potentially onerous obligations under the table.

How does a Stoic person behave?

A Stoic knows it is silly to waste their time worrying about things they cannot control. They put things that happen to them into one of two buckets: What they can control, and what they cannot control. They act on the things they can control. They accept the things they cannot control.

Is Stoic positive or negative?

Most Stoic behaviours have proved to be positively associated with well-being . Many Stoic attitudes are also positively associated with well-being, but less so than behaviours.

How do Stoics deal with infidelity?

So what does Stoicism have to say about infidelity? “While open relationships are perfectly permissible, if consensual, a Stoic perspective tells us that infidelity — which involves betrayal — is not . The Stoics believe that a good life is one in which we try to become better human beings.”

Can suppressing emotions be a good thing?

Studies have shown that suppressing emotions actually endangers your health and well-being, both physically and psychologically . Emotional suppression (having a stiff upper lip or “sucking it up”) might decrease outward expressions of emotion but not the inner emotional experience.

What does Epictetus say about emotions?

Don’t let others determine your emotions

I will only make them my own if I so choose. If this were not true, if my own thoughts couldn’t intervene, I’d have to be depressed all the time. Unless I could make everyone else change their opinion about me, which is nearly impossible and very hard work.

Is Stoicism a religion?

Are Stoics Pantheists?

Monism. Stoicism was a pantheistic philosophy . The cosmos is active, life-giving, rational and creative. It is a single cohesive unit, a self-supporting entity containing within it all that it needs, and all parts depending on mutual exchange with each other.

Do Stoics believe in an afterlife?

The ancient Stoics rejected a permanent afterlife , and were agnostic about even any kind of temporary afterlife. The afterlife did not play any role at all in their value system or the argument they made for their ethics.

Is Buddhism a Stoicism?

Buddhists believe that suffering comes from our attachment to desires, while Stoics believe that suffering comes from our judgment to external events . A Buddhist eliminates suffering by detaching himself from his desires. A Stoic eliminates suffering by being indifferent to all external events.

How do you Stoic in dating?

What is opposite of Stoic?

Opposite of not easily upset or excited. excitable . agitated . frantic . jittery .

Do Stoics marry?

According to Diogenes Laertius, the Stoics “ think the wise men should have their wives in common, so that anyone might make love to any woman .” (34) Only in this way could the Stoics continue to maintain their lack of attachments to external things.

What do Stoics think about pleasure?

The role that pleasure plays in life according to the Stoic conception is that it must follow virtue . Without virtue, life’s pleasures are hollow traps. They can enslave you and make you dependent on their constant presence. Without these pleasures, life becomes unbearable, leaving you weak and despondent.

What is a Stoic lifestyle?

Stoicism holds that the key to a good, happy life is the cultivation of an excellent mental state, which the Stoics identified with virtue and being rational . The ideal life is one that is in harmony with Nature, of which we are all part, and an attitude of calm indifference towards external events.

What are the 4 virtues of Stoicism?

The Stoics elaborated a detailed taxonomy of virtue, dividing virtue into four main types: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation .

How does stoicism help me?

Can Stoics be sensitive?

Is stoic sense of apathy ethical?

Stoic Ethics

As an ethical doctrine , the goal of Stoicism is freedom from passion (in the ancient sense of “anguish” or “suffering”) through the pursuit of reason and “apatheia” (apathy, in its ancient sense of being objective, unemotional and having clear judgment).

What is the difference between Stoic and stoicism?

How do you become a modern Stoic?

  1. Live with virtue (wisdom, justice, temperance, courage)
  2. Overcome destructive emotions through self control, resilience and logic.

How do you handle stress and stoicism?

  1. Divide and conquer. ...
  2. Dissect the source. ...
  3. Practice the worst-case scenario. ...
  4. Start journaling. ...
  5. Meditate on your mortality.

What causes a stoic personality?

Self-control is a key ingredient in living a stoic life. The stoic person is able to control strong emotions, and therefore they are more likely to stay rational and make better decisions. Stoics don’t worry about things they can’t control, like the actions of other people.

Are there any modern Stoics?

The modern Stoicism movement relies heavily on global social media and online communities. One of the key sites is the modern Stoicism website, which harbors the Stoicism Today blog and hosts the Annual Stoic Week (online) and Stoicon (offline) events .

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.