Posted: Feb 09, 2012 11:24 am
Stoicism generates nice quotes for sure, but it would be very difficult to be a Stoic in the modern world. Stoicism ties the whole of philosophy together in one system that includes an understanding of logic and physics that has been long superseded. It's interesting, but interesting in a historical way.
You have to put the quotes in context. The Zeno quote you have there sounds almost environmentalist, but when the Stoics talked about nature they were talking about their belief that all matter is suffused with pneuma, a sort of life force composed of fire and air, and structured by the logos or universal reason. These would not be easy beliefs to hold today.
I suppose that if you wanted a bad point it would be that Stoicism would suggest that people in bad situations should learn to accept their situation rather than change it. The social ramifications of this aren't great.
You have to put the quotes in context. The Zeno quote you have there sounds almost environmentalist, but when the Stoics talked about nature they were talking about their belief that all matter is suffused with pneuma, a sort of life force composed of fire and air, and structured by the logos or universal reason. These would not be easy beliefs to hold today.
I suppose that if you wanted a bad point it would be that Stoicism would suggest that people in bad situations should learn to accept their situation rather than change it. The social ramifications of this aren't great.