Stoic passions are various forms of

emotional Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. E ...

suffering in

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, asser ...

, a school of

Hellenistic philosophy Hellenistic philosophy is a time-frame for Western philosophy and Ancient Greek philosophy corresponding to the Hellenistic period. It is purely external and encompasses disparate intellectual content. There is no single philosophical school or cu ...

Definition

''The passions'' are transliterated ''pathê'' from Greek. The Greek word ''

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 c ...

'' was a wide-ranging term indicating an infliction one suffers. The Stoics used the word to discuss many common emotions such as anger, fear and excessive joy. A passion is a disturbing and misleading force in the mind which occurs because of a failure to reason correctly. For the Stoic

Chrysippus Chrysippus of Soli (; grc-gre, Χρύσιππος ὁ Σολεύς, ; ) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes. When Clean ...

the passions are evaluative judgements.Groenendijk, Leendert F. and de Ruyter, Doret J.(2009) 'Learning from Seneca: a Stoic perspective on the art of living and education', Ethics and Education, 4: 1, 81–92
A person experiencing such an emotion has incorrectly valued an indifferent thing. A fault of judgement, some false notion of good or evil, lies at the root of each passion. Incorrect judgement as to a present good gives rise to delight, while lust is a wrong estimate about the future. Unreal imaginings of evil cause distress about the present, or fear for the future. These states of feeling are disturbances of mental health which upset the natural balance of the soul, and destroy its self-control. They are harmful because they conflict with right reason. The ideal Stoic would instead measure things at their real value, and see that the passions are not natural. To be free of the passions is to have a happiness which is self-contained. There would be nothing to fear—for unreason is the only evil; no cause for anger—for others cannot harm you.

Primary passions

The Stoics beginning with

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

arranged the passions under four headings: distress, pleasure, fear and lust. One report of the Stoic definitions of these passions appears in the treatise ''On Passions'' by Pseudo-Andronicus (trans. Long & Sedley, pg. 411, modified): ; Distress (lupē): Distress is an

irrational Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate use of reason, or through emotional distress or cognitive deficiency. T ...

contraction, or a fresh

opinion An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with f ...

that something bad is present, at which people think it right to be depressed. ; Fear (phobos):

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

is an irrational aversion, or avoidance of an expected

danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...

. ; Lust (epithumia):

Lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...

is an irrational desire, or pursuit of an expected

good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

but in reality bad. ; Delight (hēdonē): Delight is an irrational swelling, or a fresh opinion that something good is present, at which people think it right to be elated. Two of these passions (distress and delight) refer to emotions currently present, and two of these (fear and lust) refer to emotions directed at the future. Thus there are just two states directed at the prospect of good and evil, but subdivided as to whether they are present or future:

Subdivisions

Numerous subdivisions of the same class are brought under the head of the separate passions. The definitions are those of the translation of Cicero's ''Tusculan Disputations'' by J. E. King.

Distress

; Envy :

Envy Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...

is distress incurred by reason of a neighbor's prosperity. ; Rivalry : Rivalry is distress, should another be in possession of the object desired and one has to go without it oneself. ; Jealousy :

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

is distress arising from the fact that the thing one has coveted oneself is in the possession of the other man as well as one's own. ; Compassion :

Compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

is distress arising from the wretchedness of a neighbor in undeserved suffering. ; Anxiety :

Anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

is oppressive distress. ; Mourning :

Mourning Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...

is distress arising from the untimely death of a beloved object. ; Sadness :

Sadness Sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and withdraw thems ...

is tearful distress. ; Troubling : Troubling is burdensome distress. ; Grief :

Grief Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogni ...

is torturing distress. ; Lamenting : Distress accompanied by wailing. ; Depression : Depression is distress accompanied by brooding. ; Vexation : Vexation is lasting distress. ; Despondency : Despondency is distress without any prospect of amelioration.

Fear

; Sluggishness : Sluggishness is fear of ensuing toil. ; Shame :

Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

is fear of disgrace. ; Fright : Fright is paralyzing fear which causes paleness, trembling and chattering of teeth. ; Timidity :

Timidity Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

is fear of approaching

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

. ; Consternation : Consternation is fear upsetting the

mental Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie * ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda * ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...

balance. ; Pusillanimity : Pusillanimity is fear following on the heels of fright like an attendant. ; Bewilderment : Bewilderment is fear paralyzing

thought In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, a ...

. ; Faintheartedness : Faintheartedness is lasting fear.

Lust

; Anger :

Anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

is lust of punishing the man who is thought to have inflicted an undeserved

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

. ; Rage : Rage is anger springing up and suddenly showing itself. ; Hatred :

Hatred Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

is inveterate anger. ; Enmity : Enmity is anger watching as opportunity for

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

. ; Wrath :

Wrath Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

is anger of greater bitterness conceived in the innermost heart and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. ; Greed :

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...

is insatiable lust. ; Longing : Longing is lust of beholding someone who is not present.

Delight

; Malice : Malice is

pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...

derived from a neighbor's evil which brings no advantage to oneself. ; Rapture :

Rapture The rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an Eschatology, end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurre ...

is pleasure soothing the soul by charm of the sense of

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psycholog ...

. ; Ostentation :

Ostentation In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...

is pleasure shown in outward demeanor and puffing oneself out extravagantly.

Good feelings

The wise person (''sophos'') is someone who is free from the passions (''

apatheia Apatheia ( el, ἀπάθεια; from ''a-'' "without" and ''pathos'' "suffering" or "passion"), in Stoicism, refers to a state of mind in which one is not disturbed by the passions. It might better be translated by the word equanimity than the word ...

''). Instead the sage experiences good-feelings (''eupatheia'') which are clear-headed. These emotional impulses are not excessive, but nor are they diminished emotions. Instead they are the correct rational emotions. The Stoics listed the good-feelings under the headings of joy (''chara''), wish (''boulesis''), and caution (''eulabeia''). Thus if something is present which is a genuine good, then the wise person experiences an uplift in the soul—joy (''chara''). The Stoics also subdivided the good-feelings: *Joy: **Enjoyment **Cheerfulness **Good spirits *Wish: **Good intent **Goodwill **Welcoming **Cherishing **Love *Caution: **Moral shame **Reverence

Citations

References

* * * * * *Andronicus, "On Passions I," ''

Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta ''Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta'' is a collection by Hans von Arnim of fragments and testimonia of the earlier Stoics, published in 1903–1905 as part of the Bibliotheca Teubneriana. It includes the fragments and testimonia of Zeno of Citium, Chrys ...

'', 3.391. ed.

Hans von Arnim Hans von Arnim (14 September 1859, Groß Fredenwalde – 26 May 1931, Vienna) was a German-Austrian classical philologist, who specialized in studies of Plato and Aristotle. He studied classical philology at the University of Greifswald as a ...

. 1903–1905. *Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1945 c. 1927). ''Cicero : Tusculan Disputations'' (Loeb Classical Library, No. 141) 2nd Ed. trans. by J. E. King. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard UP. *Long, A. A., Sedley, D. N. (1987). ''The Hellenistic Philosophers: vol. 1. translations of the principal sources with philosophical commentary''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

External links

The Passions according to the Classical Stoa

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