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Glossary Of Stoic Terms
Glossary of terms commonly found in Stoic philosophy. A ;adiaphora: ἀδιάφορα: indifferent things, neither good nor bad. ;agathos: ἀγαθός: good, proper object of desire. ;anthrôpos: ἄνθρωπος: human being, used by Epictetus to express an ethical ideal. ; apatheia: ἀπάθεια: serenity, peace of mind, such as that achieved by the Stoic sage. ;aphormê: ἀφορμή: aversion, impulse not to act (as a result of ekklisis). Opposite of hormê. ;apoproêgmena: ἀποπροηγμένα: dispreferred things. Morally indifferent but naturally undesirable things, such as illness. Opposite of proêgmena. ; aretê: ἀρετή: Virtue. Goodness and human excellence. ;askêsis: ἄσκησις: disciplined training designed to achieve virtue. ;ataraxia: ἀταραξία: tranquillity, untroubled by external things. ; autarkeia: αὐτάρκεια: self-sufficiency, mental independence of all things. D ; daimôn: δαίμων: divine spirit within humans. ;di ...
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Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve Eudaimonia, (happiness, ): one flourishes by living an Ethics, ethical life. The Stoics identified the path to with a life spent practicing the cardinal virtues and living in accordance with nature. The Stoics are especially known for teaching that "virtue is the only good" for human beings, and that external things, such as health, wealth, and pleasure, are not good or called in themselves (''adiaphora'') but have value as "material for virtue to act upon". Alongside Aristotelian ethics, the Stoic tradition forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. The Stoics also held that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and th ...
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Kathekon
Kathēkon ( el, καθῆκον) (plural: ''kathēkonta'' el, καθήκοντα) is a Greek concept, forged by the founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium. It may be translated as "appropriate behaviour", "befitting actions", or "convenient action for nature",Nova Roma
interview of A. Poliseno, "Stoicism in Ancient Rome",
or also "proper function". ''Kathekon'' was translated in Latin by as '' officium'', and by Seneca as ''convenentia''. ''Kathēkonta'' are contrasted, in Stoic ethics, with ''
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Sage (philosophy)
A sage ( grc, σοφός, ''sophos''), in classical philosophy, is someone who has attained wisdom. The term has also been used interchangeably with a 'good person' ( grc, ἀγαθός, ''agathos''), and a 'virtuous person' ( grc, σπουδαῖος, ''spoudaios''). Among the earliest accounts of the sage begin with Empedocles' ''Sphairos''. Horace describes the ''Sphairos'' as "Completely within itself, well-rounded and spherical, so that nothing extraneous can adhere to it, because of its smooth and polished surface."Pierre Hadot (1998).''The Inner Citadel'', trans. Michael Chase. Harvard University Press, p. 119 Alternatively, the sage is one who lives "according to an ideal which transcends the everyday." Several of the schools of Hellenistic philosophy have the sage as a featured figure. Karl Ludwig Michelet wrote that "Greek religion culminated with its true god, the sage"; Pierre Hadot develops this idea, stating that "the moment philosophers achieve a rational conception ...
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Prohairesis
Prohairesis ( grc, προαίρεσις; variously translated as "moral character", "will", "volition", "choice", "intention", or "moral choice") is a fundamental concept in the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus. It represents the choice involved in giving or withholding assent to impressions ''(phantasiai)''. The use of this Greek word was first introduced into philosophy by Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ... in the '' Nicomachean Ethics''. To Epictetus, it is the faculty that distinguishes human beings from all other creatures. The concept of prohairesis plays a cardinal role in the '' Discourses'' and in the '' Manual'': the terms "prohairesis", "prohairetic", and "aprohairetic" appear some 168 times. Explanation by Epictetus According to Epictetus, nothing i ...
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Pneuma (Stoic)
In Stoic philosophy, pneuma ( grc-gre, πνεῦμα) is the concept of the "breath of life," a mixture of the elements air (in motion) and fire (as warmth). Originating among Greek medical writers who locate human vitality in the breath, pneuma for the Stoics is the active, generative principle that organizes both the individual and the cosmos. In its highest form, the pneuma constitutes the human soul (''psychê''), which is a fragment of the pneuma that is the soul of God. As a force that structures matter, it exists even in inanimate objects. Levels of pneuma In the Stoic universe, everything consists of matter and pneuma. There are three grades or kinds of pneuma, depending on their proportion of fire and air. * The pneuma of state or tension (''tonos''). This unifying and shaping pneuma provides stability or cohesion (''hexis'') to things; it is a force that exists even in objects such as a stone, log, or cup. The 4th-century Christian philosopher Nemesius attributes the po ...
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Physis
Fusis, Phusis or Physis (; grc, φύσις ) is a Greek philosophical, theological, and scientific term, usually translated into English—according to its Latin translation "natura"—as "nature". The term originated in ancient Greek philosophy, and was later used in Christian theology and Western philosophy. In pre-Socratic usage, ''physis'' was contrasted with , , "law, human convention". Another opposition, particularly well-known from the works of Aristotle, is that of ''physis'' and ''techne'' – in this case, what is produced and what is artificial are distinguished from beings that arise spontaneously from their own essence, as do agents such as humans. Further, since Aristotle the ''physical'' (the subject matter of ''physics'', properly "natural things") has been juxtaposed to the ''metaphysical''. Linguistics The Greek word ''physis'' can be considered the equivalent of the Latin ''natura''. The abstract term physis is derived from the verb ''phyesthai/phynai'', w ...
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Phronesis
''Phronesis'' ( grc, φρόνησῐς, phrónēsis), translated into English by terms such as prudence, practical virtue and practical wisdom, or, colloquially, sense (as in "good sense", "horse sense") is an ancient Greek word for a type of wisdom or intelligence relevant to practical action. It implies both good judgment and excellence of character and habits, and was a common topic of discussion in ancient Greek philosophy, in ways that are still influential today. In Aristotelian ethics, for example in the ''Nicomachean Ethics'', the concept is distinguished from other words for wisdom and intellectual virtues – such as ''episteme'' and ''techne'' – because of its practical character. The traditional Latin translation was , the source of the English word "prudence". Among other proposals, Thomas McEvilley has proposed that the best translation is "mindfulness". Ancient Greek philosophy Plato In some of Plato's dialogues, Socrates proposes that ''phronēsis'' is a nec ...
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Phantasiai
In Hellenistic philosophy the term ''phantasiai'' (φαντασίαι) is information based on sense experience. Plato described ''phantasiai'' as a blend of perception and doxa (judgement/opinion). Aristotle placed ''phantasiai'' between perception and thought. For Aristotle ''phantasiai'' is based on sense perception and includes mental images, dreams, and hallucinations. The Pyrrhonists, Epicureans, and the Stoics use the term to refer to information received through the senses and arising in thoughts. In translations of Pyrrhonist texts the term is usually rendered as "appearances" but in translations of Stoic texts there is no consensus how to translate the term, with "appearance," "impression," "presentation," and "representation" all in use. In Epicureanism ''phantasiai'' are all true, but opinions (doxa) are not all true. Of opinions, then, according to Epicurus, some are true and some are false. The true are those that testify for, and not against, the evidence of se ...
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Pathos
Pathos (, ; plural: ''pathea'' or ''pathê''; , for "suffering" or "experience") appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a term used most often in rhetoric (in which it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and logos), as well as in literature, film and other narrative art. Methods Emotional appeal can be accomplished in many ways, such as the following: * by a metaphor or storytelling, commonly known as a hook; * by passion in the delivery of the speech or writing, as determined by the audience; * by personal anecdote. appealing to an ideal can also be handled in various ways, such as the following: * by understanding the reason for their position * avoiding attacks against a person or audience's personally * use the attributes of the ideal to reinforce the message Pathos tends to use "loaded" words that will get some sort of reaction. Examples could include "victim," in a n ...
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Palingenesis
Palingenesis (; also palingenesia) is a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. Its meaning stems from Greek , meaning 'again', and , meaning 'birth'. In biology, it is another word for recapitulationthe largely discredited hypothesis which talks of the phase in the development of an organism in which its form and structure pass through the changes undergone in the evolution of the species. In political theory, it is a central component of Roger Griffin's analysis of fascism as a fundamentally modernist ideology. In theology, the word may refer to reincarnation or to Christian spiritual rebirth. Philosophy and theology The word ''palingenesis'' or rather ''palingenesia'' ( grc, παλιγγενεσία) may be traced back to the Stoics, who used the term for the continual re- creation of the universe. Similarly Philo spoke of Noah and his sons as leaders of a renovation or rebirth of the earth, Plutarch of th ...
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Paideia
''Paideia'' (also spelled ''paedeia'') ( /paɪˈdeɪə/; Greek: παιδεία, ''paideía'') referred to the rearing and education of the ideal member of the ancient Greek polis or state. These educational ideals later spread to the Greco-Roman world at large, and were called ''humanitas'' in Latin. ''Paideia'' was meant to instill aristocratic virtues in the young citizen men who were trained in this way. An ideal man within the polis would be well-rounded, refined in intellect, morals, and physicality, so training of both the body and mind was important. Both practical, subject-based schooling as well as a focus upon the socialization of individuals within the aristocratic order of the polis were a part of this training. The practical aspects of ''paideia'' included subjects within the modern designation of the liberal arts (e.g. rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy), as well as scientific disciplines like arithmetic and medicine. Gymnastics and wrestling were valued for their eff ...
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Ousia
''Ousia'' (; grc, οὐσία) is a philosophical and theological term, originally used in ancient Greek philosophy, then later in Christian theology. It was used by various ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, as a primary designation for philosophical concepts of ''essence'' or '' substance''. In contemporary philosophy, it is analogous to English concepts of '' being'' and ''ontic''. In Christian theology, the concept of (''divine essence'') is one of the most important doctrinal concepts, central to the development of trinitarian doctrine. The Ancient Greek term (; ''divine essence'') was translated in Latin as or , and hence in English as ''essence'' or '' substance''. Etymology The term is an Ancient Greek noun, formed on the feminine present participle of the verb , , meaning "to be, I am", so similar grammatically to the English noun "being". There was no equivalent grammatical formation in Latin, and it was translated as or . Cicero coined and th ...
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