Glossary of terms commonly found in
Stoic
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
* STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
* ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain
* ...
philosophy.
A
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adiaphora
Adiaphoron (; plural: adiaphora; from the Greek (pl. ), meaning "not different or differentiable") is the negation of ''diaphora'', "difference".
In Cynicism, adiaphora represents indifference to the s of life. In Pyrrhonism, it indicates thin ...
: ἀδιάφορα: indifferent things, neither good nor bad.
;agathos: ἀγαθός: good, proper object of desire.
;anthrôpos: ἄνθρωπος: human being, used by
Epictetus
Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when ...
to express an ethical ideal.
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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.
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aretê: ἀρετή: Virtue. Goodness and human excellence.
;askêsis: ἄσκησις: disciplined training designed to achieve virtue.
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ataraxia
''Ataraxia'' (Greek: ἀταραξία, from ("a-", negation) and ''tarachē'' "disturbance, trouble"; hence, "unperturbedness", generally translated as "imperturbability", " equanimity", or "tranquility") is a Greek term first used in Ancient ...
: ἀταραξία: tranquillity, untroubled by external things.
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autarkeia: αὐτάρκεια: self-sufficiency, mental independence of all things.
D
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daimôn: δαίμων: divine spirit within humans.
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diairesis
Diairesis ( grc, διαίρεσις, diaíresis, "division") is a form of classification used in ancient (especially Platonic) logic that serves to systematize concepts and come to definitions. When defining a concept using diairesis, one starts ...
: διαίρεσις: analysis, division into parts. Used when distinguishing what is subject to our power of choice from what is not.
;dikaiosyne: δικαιοσύνε: justice, "consonant with the law and instrumental to a sense of duty" (Diogenes Laertius 7.98). One of the four virtues (justice, courage, temperance, wisdom/prudence).
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dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...
: δόγμα: principle established by reason and experience.
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doxa
Doxa (; from verb ) Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. – via Perseus Project. is a common belief or popular opinion. In cla ...
: δόξα: belief, opinion.
E
;ekklisis: ἔκκλισις: aversion, inclination away from a thing. Opposite of orexis.
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ekpyrôsis
Ekpyrosis (; grc, ἐκπύρωσις ''ekpýrōsis'', "conflagration") is a Stoic belief in the periodic destruction of the cosmos by a great conflagration every Great Year. The cosmos is then recreated ( palingenesis) only to be destroyed agai ...
: ἐκπύρωσις: cyclical conflagration of the Universe.
;eph' hêmin: ἐφ' ἡμῖν: up to us, what is in our power, e.g. the correct use of impressions.
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epistêmê: ἐπιστήμη: certain and true knowledge, over and above that of katalêpsis.
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eudaimonia: εὐδαιμονία: happiness, well-being.
;eupatheia: εὐπάθεια: good feeling (as contrasted with pathos), occurring in the Stoic sage who performs correct (virtuous) judgements and actions.
H
;hêgemonikon: ἡγεμονικόν: ruling faculty of the mind.
;heimarmenê: εἱμαρμένη: fate, destiny.
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hormê: ὁρμή: positive impulse or appetite towards an object (as a result of orexis). Opposite of aphormê.
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hylê: ὕλη: matter, material.
K
;kalos: κάλος: beautiful. Sometimes used in a moral sense: honourable, virtuous.
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katalêpsis: κατάληψις: clear comprehension and conviction.
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kathêkon: καθῆκον: duty, appropriate action on the path to Virtue.
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kosmos: κόσμος: order, world, universe.
L
;logikos: λογικός: rational.
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logos
''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Ari ...
: λόγος: reason, explanation, word, argument. Also, the ordering principle in the kosmos.
;logos spermatikos: λόγος σπερματικός: the generative principle of the Universe which creates and takes back all things.
N
;nomos: νόμος: law, custom.
O
;oiêsis: οἴησις: opinion, usually arrogant or self-conceited.
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oikeiôsis
In Stoic ethics, ''oikeiôsis'' ( grc, οἰκείωσις, la, conciliatio) is a technical term variously translated as "appropriation," "orientation," "familiarization," "affinity," "affiliation," and "endearment."Richter, Daniel S, ''Cosmopol ...
: οἰκείωσις: self-ownership and extension. The process of self-awareness in all animals, which in humans leads to a sense of community.
;orexis: ὄρεξις: desire, inclination towards a thing, Opposite of ekklisis.
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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 d ...
: οὐσία: substance, being.
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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 ...
: παιδεία: training, education.
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palingenesia: παλιγγενεσία: periodic renewal of the world associated with ekpyrôsis.
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pathos: πάθος: passion or emotion, often excessive and based on false judgements.
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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 perc ...
: φαντασία: impression, appearance, the way in which something is perceived.
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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 w ...
: φρόνησῐς: prudence, practical virtue and practical wisdom, or, colloquially, sense (as in "good sense", "horse sense").
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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 ...
: φύσις: nature.
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pneuma
''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for " spirit" or "soul". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is ...
: πνεῦμα: air, breath, spirit, often as a principle in Stoic physics.
;proêgmena:προηγμένα: preferred things. Morally indifferent but naturally desirable things, such as health. Opposite of apoproêgmena.
;proficiens: Latin for prokoptôn
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pro(h)airesis: προαίρεσις: free will, reasoned choice, giving or withholding assent to impressions.
;prokopê: προκοπή: progress, on the path towards wisdom.
;prokoptôn: προκόπτων: Stoic disciple. A person making progress. Even though one has not obtained the wisdom of a sage; when appropriate actions are increasingly chosen, fewer and fewer mistakes will be made, and one will be prokoptôn, making progress.
;prolêpsis: πρόληψις: preconception possessed by all rational beings.
;prosochē: προσοχή: attitude and practice of attention, mindfulness. State of continuous, vigilant, and unrelenting attentiveness to oneself (prohairesis)
;psychê: ψυχή: mind, soul, life, living principle.
S
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sophos: σοφός: wise person, virtuous sage, and the ethical ideal.
;synkatathesis (sunkatathesis): συγκατάθεσις: assent, approval to impressions, enabling action to take place.
;sympatheia: συμπάθεια: sympathy, affinity of parts to the organic whole, mutual interdependence.
T
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technê: τέχνη: craft, art. The practical application of knowledge, especially epistêmê.
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telos
Telos (; ) is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of a work of human art. Intentional actualization of potential or inherent purpose,"Telos.''Philosophy Terms'' Retrieved 3 May 2020. ...
: τέλος: goal or objective of life.
;theôrêma: θεώρημα: general principle or perception.
;theos: θεός: god; associated with the order in the Universe.
;tonos: τόνος: tension, a principle in Stoic physics causing attraction and repulsion, and also the cause of virtue and vice in the soul.
References
* Devettere, R., ''Glossary'', in ''Introduction to Virtue Ethics: Insights of the Ancient Greeks'', pp. 139–154. Georgetown University Press. (2002).
* Haines, C., ''Glossary of Greek terms'', in ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 411–416. Loeb Classical Library. (1916).
* Inwood, B., Gerson L., ''Glossary'', in ''Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings'', pp. 399–409. Hackett Publishing. (1997).
* Long, A. A., ''Glossary'', in ''A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life'', pp. 275–276. Oxford University Press. (2002)
* Schofield, M., ''Index and Glossary of Greek terms'', in ''The Stoic Idea of the City'', pp. 171–172. Cambridge University Press. (1991).
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Stoic terms
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Greek words and phrases