The 3 Pillars Of Stoicism Explained

If we look at Stoicism as a philosophical system, we can divide it in three pillars: Ethics, Logic and Physics. Some scholars arrange these aspects of Stoicism in the form of an egg. The yolk represents the Physics; the white, the Ethics; and the shell the Logic. According to the scholars, Physics is at the core of Stoicism because without knowledge about the workings of the Universe, Ethics are kind of difficult to determine. In comparison to the fluidity of Ethics, the solidity of Logic forms the shell. Based on the Stoic egg, I will present you the three pillars of Stoicism.

Before I explain each aspect of Stoic philosophy, starting with the shell and ending with the yolk, I want to point out that these aspects are interdependent, and without the one or the other, the system will collapse. So, let's dive in.

1: Logic

We might take our rational thinking about cause and effect for granted, but, in the past, human thinking didn't always work that way, and to be honest, there are still many people these days that feel to come up with logical arguments, and are entirely led by their emotions. Logic is an art. Wise men among the Stoics were skilled in philosophical debate. Diogenes, one of the surviving sources for Stoic Logic, said, and I quote:

"We could say that Logic is not only the hard shell that holds Ethics and Physics together, but also the firm and solid art of reasoning that must be mastered in order to engage in other aspects of Stoic philosophy."

Stoic Logic is based in language rules, like propositions that are either good or false. An example: if you are watching this video during the day, take a look out of the window. Most likely, it's light outside. Thus, you can make the following proposition: "It is light". If it's indeed daytime, this proposition is true, but in the middle of the night, this proposition is false. To explain this we can add a bit more complexity to the argument and make the following proposition: "If it is day, it is light". According to the Stoics, the system of reason is what governs our universe. They call this "Logos", hence the word "Logic", which is widely used around the globe to indicate the principles of existence.

2: Ethics

What acts are appropriate and what acts are not appropriate. Let's use the drawing hand for this one. To keep it a bit organized, the Stoics argued that once we have mastered the art of reason, we can determine our Ethics. They distinguished virtue, which always contributes to happiness, and vice, which always contributes to misery. The Stoics subdivided virtue into four classifications: Moderation, Justice, Courage and Wisdom. In the same way, they subdivided vice into Injustice, Cowardice, Intemperance and Foolishness. Between vice and virtue lies a huge gray area of things that are not necessarily bad nor necessarily good. This class is called "indifferents" by the Stoics. Whether or not to display moral behavior by engaging in this indifferents depends on the context and, again, your ability to reason helps you decide how to act. In other words, indifferents aren't necessarily harmful or contributing to happiness, it depends on the way you use them.

So, how to use them? According to Zeno of Citium, founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, the goal of life is to smoothly float along with the natural course. He stated, and I quote:

"Of course, virtue is in perfect agreement with nature, while vice goes against nature."

When it comes to indifferents, the Stoics distinguished preferred indifferents and dispreferred indifferents. Examples of preferred indifferents are: strength, wealth, pleasure and a good reputation. These attributes are positive in regards our natural condition, but don't necessarily lead to happiness. Examples of dispreferred indifferents are: disease, weakness, ugliness, poverty, and low reputation. These attributes are negative in regards to our natural condition, but don't necessarily lead to misery. Again, the way these indifferents are used determines if they lead to a happy life or not. I must that there's more to Ethics within Stoicism, but these are the basics.

3: Physics

Leaving according to nature requires an understanding of nature. The Stoic concept of Physics can as well be named "nature", because we cannot really compare it to our modern metaphysics. In short, Stoic Physics are simply the understanding of the universe. Like Ethics, Stoic Physics is a vast system of ideas and concepts, so I will talk about the basics. The Stoics believed in a god-like entity named "Logos", which was the all-encompassing force of reason. In their view, existence is based in matter and pneuma. "Matter" is everything our senses can perceive, but is passive and lifeless on itself, and also destroyable. The active force behind the ever-changing manifestation of the cosmos is what the Stoics called "pneuma", which is completely mingled with the [???] of matter, and cannot be destroyed.

The famous Stoic Chrysippus described pneuma as the vehicle of Logos, that structures matter. Simply put, pneuma makes the universe alive. The movement of stars and planets, the existence of life, the waves of the sea, all is propelled by pneuma, and is based on the rational principle of Logos. The Stoics believed that everything is already determined. However, they also argued that there are countless of other realities depending on what choices we make, and thus, many different paths to follow. This soft determinism is very similar to Islamic and Christian views. On one hand, our destinies are written in the stars and, on the other hand, we still have free will.

It isn't a surprise that Stoicism had a profound impact on Christianity, and has a lot of common [???] with Islam as well. Also, Taoism and Buddhism are suspiciously similar to Stoicism in several ways.

Well, that's it. Thank you for watching.