{Lecture Two]
Although these Cynic and Stoic philosophers consider happiness as the ultimate goal of life and the criterion for right action, they did not see that happiness does not consist in the pursuit of pleasures and the fulfillment of desires. On the contrary, how much one is able to be a master and in control of our pleasures, they saw that happiness only can be found in emancipation of pleasure and getting rid of desire and their objects attached by us. The experience confirms that the frivolous excitements of pleasures and selfish pursuit of one's own desires are, rather, causes for our physical pain and mental agonies and disturbances.
Cynic philosophers such as Antisthenes and Diogenes got rid of all worldly possessions and tried to pursue a simple, scant life, free from of all pleasures and desires and attachments for worldly possessions. Thus, according to Cynic and Stoic philosophers, genuine happiness may be found in the autarcia (autapchia), the virtue of autonomy, i.e, the serenity of the mind within oneself, which further implied to lead a life of nature as much as possible. They had a keen sense of distinction between what is controllable and what is uncontrollable to any human being, and urged that, instead of trying for the uncontrollable, we do our best to be master and in control of one's own controllable. Thus in the position of those philosophers, genuine freedom of the moral subject is what is aimed at and pursued to attain.
(a) Antisthenes from Athens
Antisthenes was a student of Gorgias and later of Socrates, together with his own students. His philosophy may be best characterized as the unification of the Sophist's endeavors and Socrates' mission (due to the influences from Gorgias in the art of persuasion and Socrates in ethical thinking). Aristippos founded his school in Gymnasium Kynosarges, so he and his followers were known as Cynics. Although the answer Antisthenes found is opposite to Aristippos, both of them thought that they followed the basic principles of Socrates' philosophy.
Although Antisthenes' argument for dialectic is interesting and very sophistic, we discuss not it here, but his moral theory. Antisthenes held that happiness lies in the special virtue, called autarchy (autarcia), namely being the master and the controller of oneself, whereby one ought to pursue absolute autonomy and freedom based on reason. Antisthenes made the declaration, "Be rather insane than satisfied!" (maneihn mallon h hsqeihn). Antisthenes argued, following Socrates, that wisdom and virtue are one and the same. However, the meaning of "wisdom" was no longer the same as in case of Socrates, where it is the way to approach insight by questioning, but meant to be explicitly aware of the uncertainty of knowledge through experience. Therefore, Antisthenes contended, genuine happiness may not be attainable to the human-being, because the human being must depend on knowledge through experience. From here for practical matters, Antisthenes advocated the "return to the state of nature and natural life" and considered that the life of a hero must be the ideal (paideia) of human life. By so doing, Antisthenes intended that one has to attempt to liberate oneself from traditional religion. Antisthenes supposedly held that while there are many gods according to the state, there is only one God according to nature. Nevertheless he was critical of mythologies and yet considered that myth could be an allegory for moral teachings and explication of other concepts.
(b) Diogenes from Sinopé
Diogenes from Sinopé was born around 412 B.C. in Sinopé near Pontos and died around 323 B.C. Diogenes was a disciple of Antisthenes.
Diogenes presumably advocated strongly the four fundamental principles of Cynic philosophy:
Zeno of Kition is known as the founder of Stoicism. Fragments from his books, On the State, On the Life According to Nature, On Drive and Human Nature, On the Good and Evil, On Passions, and On Obligation, are known to us. Zeno divided Philosophical inquiry into Logic, Physics and Ethics, the last of which Zeno considered the most important. Zeno's ethical doctrine was based on Socratic philosophy in the form of the Cynics, while his system on physics was supposedly based on the philosophy of Heracleitus. Zeno considers Logic to be the art of definition and the methodology of knowledge under Aristotle's influence. Despite the fact that Zeno had been influenced by many philosophical schools, he incorporated them all into the knowledge of a new idea of human-being, that of human action and the place of the human-being in the universe, and he exercised profound influence on many philosophical endeavors in the West until the 17th century.
While in his philosophy Zeno emphasized human existence and ethics, his disciples Cleanthes and Chrisippos shifted the emphasis from ethics to cosmology. As a consequence, Zeno's philosophy experienced a great metamorphosis. Further, a radical change in the philosophy of Stoa took place through the Stoics of the middle period, Panaitios and Poseidonios. However, interestingly enough, later Stoics such as Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius Antonius went back rather to Zeno himself and his immediate disciples, Cleanthes and Chrysippos, and followed the direction of Zeno's original thought, expanding upon them on the basis of their own experiences.
According to Zeno, philosophy is an exercise of our inner striving for wisdom (sofia), which was supposed to be knowledge of divinities and human affairs. Zeno of Kition was particularly interested in ethical human endeavor. Zeno began his ethics with his doctrine of human drives or appetite (='ormh--horme). The doctrine of drive or appetite was indeed the basis for Fichte's further philosophical investigations. Among the drives, Zeno pointed out the most fundamental drive of all found in all living beings is the drive for "self preservation." To Zeno's observation, being uncontrolled and natural, the drive or appetite affects our each and every action. The drive is, according to Zeno of Kition, for our soul to be taken toward its object, whereby the soul is driven by a representation of such an object. When it is viewed from the logical point of view, drives or appetites are "concordance" (sugkataqeseis) of a proposition with certain propositions. Zeno distinguishes rational beings from non-rational beings. Now the irrational drive or appetite contains in itself "moving power" (kinhlitkon) as the initiating power to an action besides the concordance to a certain proposition. It is not known how Zeno articulated many, different kinds of drive or appetites.
Zeno's doctrine of drive or appetite is closely connected with his doctrine on purpose (telos). Since the time of Democritus and Socrates, happiness is the ultimate goal of human moral decision and life. According to Zeno, happiness consists in "the rational drive or appetite for a moral life." The question of what makes life "moral" is answered by Zeno in the same line that the Cynics held. Zeno maintained that what makes our life "virtuous" thus "moral" is revealed in nature itself. So "the purpose of human existence is the virtuous life, which is the life in accordance with nature. " By so doing, Zeno held, the inner harmony may be created: Our passion alone brings us into our human nature conflicts. The virtuous life or the life in accordance with nature is no other than the rational life. According to Zeno, therefore, "virtue" is defined as the condition maintained by the controlling portion (hgemonikon--hegemonikon) of the mind. What is controlling in the mind is reason or rational knowledge (episthmh--episteme) in distinction from mere opinion (doca--doxa). Reason itself is harmonious and calm. Therefore, those who are virtuous are the rational human-beings who live in accordance with Nature.
Following Plato's traditional distinctions among virtues, Zeno enumerates four fundamental virtues: wisdom (fronhsis--phronesis), courage (andreia--andreia), moderation (swfrosunh- soophrosune), and justice (dicaiosunh--dichaiosune), whereby phronesis (wisdom) stands over and above the other three virtues, just as the hgemonikon (controlling-masterful) portion of the soul over its other portions. In contrast, Zeno states very little about vices. He characterizes vice as the ignorance of things, whose knowledge (phronesis) is indeed virtue. Once again in agreement with Socrates,
1) knowledge or wisdom about what one ought to do, what one ought not to do and what is neither the case is revealed by Zeno as phronesis or moral sagacity as the highest virtue.
2) knowledge of what to choose, what not to choose and what is none of the causes is explicated as the virtue of moderation.
3) virtue of justice is shown as knowledge or wisdom about which of that properly belonging to each is to be distributed to him/her, which of that properly belonging to each is not distributed and which of that properly belonging to each is not the case.
4) virtue of courage may be found in knowledge or wisdom of whom to fear, what not to fear and what is none of the cases. As is obvious from the above, Zeno further advanced the Socratic wisdom of holding all virtues as knowledge.
Zeno believed that what is good may be related to these four main virtues and anything participating in any virtue. What is evil is related to the vices (ignorance, excessiveness, cowardness and injustice) or anything participating in any vice. It is interesting to note that Zeno classified a group of what is valuable, which are neither virtues, nor vices, which are neither good, nor evil. They are called "the intermediary" (mesa--mesa, after Chrysippos adiafora--adiaphora=indifferent). Zeno distinguished these intermediary into three groups, which may be grouped by means of the degree of selectability in questionable cases.
1) praeposita, prhgmata--praegmata: those which are gifted or preferred by nature: Life, honor, pleasure, wealth, health and beauty
2) abjecta, apoprhgmata--apopregmata: those which are not preferred by nature: Death, disgrace, toil, poverty, illness, weakness and pain
3) those to which no moral value belongs
In Zeno's moral theory of good and evil actions, the notion of "obligation" or "ought" (paqhkon -patheekon) plays a significant role, which is understood, according to Zeno, as the unwritten laws of nature deeply imbedded in each of us. His idea of boundedness of each individual to society is to reveal itself in the process of nature. It is the way of action of those who are furthering their knowledge and other virtues. The harm of virtuous actions by those rational ones who normally act in accordance with nature derives from passions. Zeno of Kition simply defines "passion" as the contra-rational movement of the soul or its movement against nature or the movement away from an overwhelming compulsion. Passion is, like drive, a surrender to a certain mental action. Furthermore, Zeno characterizes passion as the illness of the mind. Thus the ideal figure of the Stoic human-being, who possesses wisdom of the divine and the human, to be rational and virtuous has nothing to do with passion. For his soul is healthy. Such a human-being is serene in himself and is not driven by a disquieting urge which is rooted in passion. Major passions are, according to Zeno, sorrow (luph--lupe), fear (fobos-phobos), desire (epiqumia--epithumia) and pleasure (hdonh--hedone). Clear articulations such as these may have been made by Chrysippos, but we do not know. Zeno considered that a transition from virtue to vice, once we possess knowledge or wisdom, is not possible. However, he considered that it is normal to slowly and gradually proceed to the virtuous life as in the case of those who make progress (prokopton -prokoption). Phronesis (fronhsis-wisdom) produces progress and there is always the potential nature in the human being to become more virtuous, particularly through education. Zeno is also known as the founder of the pedagogic doctrine and is well known as a very competent teacher.
The faith in the relationship between knowledge and action deeply connected his ethical system to Socratic philosophy and left a great influence, even in later years up to Spinoza.
(d) Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (5 A.D.-65 A.D.)
Seneca was born in Cordoba as the son of Spanish aristocrat Annäaus Seneca around 5 A.D. Seneca was sent to Rome to be educated to become a rhetorian, but soon he changed his study to philosophy. In 41 A.D. Seneca was sent to Corsica, however in 49 A.D. he was taken back to Rome. Seneca was later, in 65 A.D., condemned by Prätor, educator and counsel to Nero, as being contemptuous of Nero and so was ordered to commit suicide in the same year.
Seneca was one of the representatives (together with Epictetus) for the latest development of Stoic philosophy. He came in contact with early Christianity in the field of ethics. Seneca was more a man of practice than of theory and systematic philosophy.
We play with small stones and apply our penetrating insight into absolutely trivial things. These activities do not make us virtuous, but at best learned. Wisdom is far more obvious and simple. To be awaken to and aware of the virtuous motive (Gesinnung), man need not much sciences. However, as in the case of other things, we do also exaggerate philosophy, too. The absence of the standard is our own fault in all. (106 Letter).
To be wise and virtuous is the ultimate goal of moral striving. Only wisdom and virtue are immortal, that the mortal can possess. (98 Letter)
Wherein then lies Seneca's wisdom? He said: I hold myself onto nature; in this respect, all the Stoic philosophers agree, and not derail from it, educate oneself by means of its laws and example. This is wisdom (De vita beata).
Wise persons live in accordance with the laws of nature. Nature, both human and non-human nature, is regulated by reason. The life in accordance with nature is at the same time rational. To be virtuous means to live rationally. The life in accordance with nature, being rational, virtuous and wise, is anchored in happiness, for which every human being strives.
A life is happy, when the life corresponds to its own nature.
In addition, there must be a healthy spirit, which takes into consideration the basic bodily needs, and has attained a serene disposition without any fear before fate's changes and attained freedom against desires and passion. Seneca held, "one attains freedom through indifference against the fat. Out of this, that invaluable Goodness arises: The serenity and noble excellence of the spirit, which has found its own solid standpoint." The Ataraxia--autarqia, unshakable autonomy, and apathia--apaqia, apathy, both of which, in the Greek Stoic traditions, was alive and well in Seneca.
Through these thoughts, Seneca referred to the highest good, which found in it happiness, virtue and wisdom. The highest good, according to Seneca, is disposition in which the accidental has no effect and finds joy in virtue. Happy is the person who is led by reason and wishes nothing else (self-sufficient) and fears nothing. No one can be happy
who has no notion of truth. The happy life therefore is that which resides on the right, reassured judgment and stays with it unmoved. The rational human-being takes nature as its guide, observing and questioning it. The human being obtains "that certain reason, which contracts not with itself, is immovable by opinions, concepts or its own conviction. When such a life is ordered and harmonious, then it attains the highest good." It is consciousness in the best disposition of the spirit. The question, "why do I strive for virtue?" should not be asked, for I will virtue itself, virtue has not anything better, it is its own reward."
The human being led by reason is, according to Seneca, suited to community with others.
The human being is created to be mutually helpful... the human being is to live sociably and human life consists in good deeds and harmony, not out of fear, but by mutual love the human life is made into the band of communal help.
As a human being, everyone must protect everybody else, because we are determined to form a community. The good of the totality lies in each individual taking part in amiable thoughtfulness to one another. To harm another human being is against human nature. Should someone else try to harm you, return it with a good deed." Anger is against nature. Nature demands love, while anger demands hatred. While anger is harmful, nature is full of benefit.
To Seneca death and life belongs to the area of things unessential, in the area of Adiaphora. Death is neither good nor evil. For a good or an evil must be only something actually existing. (Ad Marciam de conolatione) Whether life in general is so valuable is itself another question. I will not ascribe to myself the courage to remain in such a miserable slave trade. (De ira, Book III)
If the pressure of external circumstances is too strong for the human-being, then the human being has the right to reply: "I will show you that there is an open road in every slavery. If our heart is sick and miserable due to our own crime, then one can end the misery and life." Seneca further said, "There is no necessity to live in crisis. Why not? Because there are all over enough ways to freedom, short and easy ones. We are grateful to God that no one is forced to keep living." (12 Letter) As Seneca meant the exit, he describes: "Look around, you can end your misery everywhere. Do you see that fall into the abyss? >From there, it leads to freedom! Do you see that ocean, that river and that spring? At the base of it, freedom resides! Your neck, your throat and your heart? Mere ways to end the slavery. Is the exit too much, does it ask of you too much courage and skill, then you ask the easiest way to freedom: Each blood vessel of the body is such a way! (De ira, Book III)/ Fate indeed gave Seneca the opportunity to prove the power of his self confidence through his own suicide....
(e) Epictetus from Hierapolis (50 A.D.-138 A.D.)
Epictetus was born in Hierapolis around 30 S.D. Epictetus was slave to captain of the Emperor Nero's body-guards, was freed after the assassination of Nero and lived in extreme poverty until he had to leave Rome as Domitian's philosophers' prosecutions took place. Epictetos founded his own school in Nikopoliss in Epirus, which he led until his death around 138 A.D. The manual or small handbook on morality written and edited by Epictetus was selections from the lectures noted by Arrianos. Epictetus was a student of Musonius, whom he became acquainted with in Rome. He was well known for his intellectual brilliance since his youth and was not occupied with manual labor. In Rome at that time it was quite fashionable to own an intellectual slave, who actually was seen as the master's status symbol.
His philosophy, like Seneca's, emphasized the religious and the moral in that Epictetus and other Roman Stoics were strongly influenced by the Cynics and their philosophy emphasizing maintenance of inner serenity.
As schoolmaster, Epictetus was said to have been forced to teach on theoretical inquiries, too. So he was well acquainted with Stoic epistemology, Anthropology and Psychology. His religious and moral insights were strongly formed by oppression and dependence as with his own status. Such a philosophy reflected the image of a human-being who was by circumstance denied all the most important conveniences and goods. Nevertheless, Epictetus was able to develop a very positive philosophy of life.
Thus, Epictetus' philosophy stressed the wisdom of independence and rational control of the one's own internal state of mind (to become the master of oneself), while he advocated that one should give up useless concern and meaningless efforts to change and control the uncontrollable circumstances around oneself. For reason and its meaningful use, according to Epictetus, enabled him to transcend and free himself of all the adversities of life. A typical statement from his handbook says:
Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control. Under our control are conception, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything that is our own doing; not under our control are our body, or property, reputation, office, and in a word, everything that is not our own doing. Furthermore, the things under our control are by nature free, unhindered, and unimpeded; while the things not under our control are weak, servile, subject to hindrance, and not our own. Remember, therefore, that if what is naturally slavish you think to be free, and what is not your own to be your own, you will be hampered, will grieve, will be in turmoil, and will blame both gods and men; while if you think only what is your own to be your own, and what is not your own to be, as it really is, not your own, then no one will ever be able to exert compulsion upon you, no one will hinder you, you will blame no one, will find fault with no one, will do absolutely nothing against your will, you will have no personal enemy, no one will harm you, for neither is there any harm that can touch you. (The Encheiridion)
Epictetus' philosophy was the greatest approach to control the turmoil and difficulties which may stand in the way of our efforts toward the easy life and pleasant joys.
Just as in the philosophy of Seneca, Epictetus's philosophy has many resemblances with early Christian dogmas. Epictetus taught that God is the father of all humankind and the human=being ought to be always conscious of his belonging to God. Such a feeling of unity with God is so strong in Epictetus that he even characterized his inner life as being in Divine service. Epictetus said we should revere God's commands.What happens to the human-being in life comes from God, as God will test our belonging to Him and our commitment to His service, so that we become the living proofs for God.
In correspondence to such a theology, Epictetus's Ethic provides humans with moral commands for sympathy and forgiveness of evil deeds by human-beings. Epictetus contended that despite the goodness of all human-beings, evil and injustice may indeed result from unfree volition, so human-beings acts wrongfully simply because of mistaken ideas of good and evil. The experience of all adversities and those created by other human beings must be turned into an exercise for the moral will. The ultimate goal of life is to attain the spiritual strength of endurance and denial, which Epictetus formulated as the fundamental rule:
Epictetus also warns that the things which disturb us are not the things themselves, but perceptions and judgments:
5) It is not the things themselves that disturb men, but their judgements about these things. For example, death is nothing dreadful, or else Socrates too would have thought so, but the judgement that death is dreadful, this is the dreadful thing. Therefore, when we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never blame anyone but ourselves, that means, our own judgements....
Epictetus also in 6)?8) warns us not to be elated or excited about what is not under your control.
8) Do not seek to have everything that happens happen as you wish, but wish for everything to happen as it actually does happen, and your life will be serene.
Physical illness is not moral evil, according to Epictetus:
9) Disease is an impediment to the body, but not to the moral purpose, unless that consents. Lameness is an impediment to the leg, but not to the moral purpose...
If anything befalls one, one is rather to try to deal with it, said Epictetus:
10) In the case of everything that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and see what faculty you have to deal with it. If you see a handsome lad or woman, you will find continence the faculty to employ here; if hard labor is laid upon you, you will find endurance; if reviling, you will find patience to bear evil; and if you habituate yourself in this fashion, your external impressions will not run away with you.
15) Remember that you ought to behave in life as you wold at a banquet. As something is being passed around it comes to you; stretch out your hand and take a portion of it politely. It passes on; do not detain it. Or it has not come to you yet; do not project your desire to meet it, but wait until it comes in front of you. So act toward children, so toward a wife, so toward office, so toward wealth; and then some day you will be worthy of the banquets of the gods.
About philosophy,
22) If you yearn for philosophy, prepare at once to be met with ridicule, to have many people jeer at you and say, "Here he is again, turned philosopher all of a sudden," and "Where do you suppose he got that high brow?" But do you not put on a high brow, and do you so hold fast to the things which to you seem best, as a man who has been assigned by God to this post; and remember that if you abide by the same principles, those who formerly used to laugh at you will later come to admire you, but if you are worsted by them, you will get the laugh on yourself twice...
Epictetus' interesting practical advice:
33) Lay down for yourself, at the outset, a certain stamp and type of character for yourself, which you are to maintain whether you are by yourself or are meeting with people. And be silent for the most part, or else make only the most necessary remarks, and express them in few words. But rarely, and when occasion requires you to talk, talk, indeed, but about no ordinary topics. Do not talk about gladiators, or horse-races, or athletes, or things to eat or drink--topics that arise on all occasions. But above all, do not talk about people, either blaming, or praising, or comparing them. If then you can by your own conversation bring over that of your companions to what is seemly. But if you happen to be left alone in the presence of aliens, keep silence. Do not laugh much, nor at many things, nor boisterously. Refuse, if you can, to take an oath at all, but if that is impossible, refuse as far as circumstances allow. Avoid entertainments given by outside and by persons ignorant of philosophy; but if an appropriate occasion arises for you to attend, be on the alert to avoid lapsing into the behavior of such laymen.... In things that pertain to the body take only as much as your bare need requires, I mean such things as food, drink, clothing, shelter, and household slaves; but cut down on everything which is for outward show or luxury. In your sex-life preserve purity, as far as you can, before marriage, and if you indulge, take only those privileges which are lawful. However, do not make your self offensive, or censorious, to those who do indulge, and do not make frequent mention of the fact that you do not yourself indulge.