My Stoic Thoughts: Day Three Stoic Week 2020

Stoic Week 2020

Wednesday, October 21st, 2020

Theme:  Virtue

I started my examination of Stoic Virtue by listing the qualities I thought were needed to live a good life.  Afterwards, I compared them to the four cardinal Stoic Virtues of Wisdom, Courage, Justice, and Self-Control/Moderation.  (See picture above for my lovely handwriting, and if you’re a client of mine who has heard me mention it’s illegibility, now you know what I’m working with! haha).  All the qualities I thought were important in living a good life can fall under one or more of the Stoic virtues.  And I think, many if not all qualities needed for a good life would fall under these four cardinal virtues.  This might be a blessing since it is far easier to remember four main virtues than it is to memorize dozens of qualities or subdivisions.  Instead, they are “travel ready” and only need some critical thinking to discern what virtue is needed, when, and how it can be expressed.  It is no secret that I prefer virtue ethics rather than some of the other ethical systems, and it is for this reason that I follow them.  Instead of relying on strict guidelines or considering only the consequences of an action, virtue ethics allows one to weigh the situation against the virtues and find the best way to respond according to some ideals or character traits they hold important to them.  This may mean that people will come to different conclusions, but we are all not the same.  We share a common human nature, rational and sociable if you ask a Stoic, but there is so much diversity in its expression and virtue ethics allows for that beauty and diversity to flourish, and with them, the flourishing of ourselves, others, and the world.

The Stoics make a distinction between whas is truly necessary for eudaimonia, the virtues, and that which is not necessary for this form of happiness while also being of value and a positive in our lives, preferred indifferents.  In short, virtues are what we do, how we act, and the expression of our character, whereas indifferents are something we do or do not have.  The distinction of what is truly necessary for our happiness encourages us to focus on what is really within our control and attainable at all times.  Indifferents are needed in our lives because it is through them that we can express our unique forms of rationality and sociability and practice virtue.  For example, I can not act justly if there is no one around me to act justly toward, so I must form relationships with others and the world in order to practice justice and caring for others (sociability).  Whether we are lucky enough to have a certain indifferent or we lose it, we are given a chance to respond virtuously and pursue our eudaimonia.  We always have that guiding stability in an unstable world.  What is truly necessary for a happy life can never be taken from us.  It is our character, which cannot be touched by the outside forces.  With that understanding, happiness is always possible, no matter the challenges we face.  And during a pandemic, we are facing many challenges.  The virtues will guide us through them.

(This is a brief summary of my thoughts inspired by prompts during Stoic Week and do not fully encompass everything on Stoic virtue.  I highly encourage you to learn more, leave comments, and add to this conversation!)