Answered
In Roman Empire
Why did Stoicism appeal to the Romans?
Roman educated men, just like some Greek educated men, were attracted to stoicism because it was a powerful philosophy. It advocated the pursuit of happiness, freedom form… suffering and a righteous life; maintained that ethics was the main focus of human knowledge; and aimed at improving the individual's ethical and moral well-being. In this respect it made up for the lack of ethical values in both Greek and Roman religion. Moreover, the Romans were a practical people not adept at abstract theories. Thus, the theories of Geek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle did not appeal to them. Stoicism was more of a philosophy of life, rather than just abstract theory and had practical implications for one's life. This appealed to Roman elite men. Stoicism was an influential philosophical school not only among the Romans. It was also the foremost philosophical school among the Greek-educated elite in the Hellenistic world, which stretched from mainland Greece to Syria and Egypt. The Romans conquered the whole of this world. The Roman-educated elite were deeply influenced by Hellenistic culture and looked up to it. Their education was in Greek as well as Latin and they were fluent in Greek. The pinnacle of their education was a stay in Greece to study Greek philosophy. Therefore, it is not surprising that stoicism was taken up by many members of the Roman elite. Epicureanism was another school Greek philosophy which was around in the Hellenistic world. It gained popularity among the Roman elite as well, though not as much as stoicism. As Bertrand Russell put it, in stoicism, "virtue consists in a will that is in agreement with Nature … [and] "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy" in interpersonal relationships. Stoicism also aimed being free from passion. However, the word passion had a different meaning back then. It meant anguish or suffering which came from passively reacting to external events. Wisdom was required to be free from suffering, to attain eupatheia; that is, feelings that result from correct judgment in the same way as passions (suffering) result from incorrect judgment. Freedom for suffering came through apatheia or peace of mind (literally, 'without passion'). To the ancient Greeks apatheia meant being objective or having "clear judgment" and the maintenance of equanimity in the face of life's highs and lows. Therefore, apatheia required the use of reason and reason was to be developed through the exercise of logic. However, reason went beyond logic. It was not just the exercise of the intellect as it is understood today. Reason also meant understanding the processes of nature. To the stoics living according to reason meant living in harmony with the divine order of the universe and in oneness with nature, which were the source of reason in human beings and apatheia (peace of mind and freedom for suffering) and happiness. Unhappiness and evil are the results of human ignorance of the reason in nature. Being unkind or acting unethically were reflections of this ignorance. The stoics also believed in four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. More generally, virtue meant amend one's will to be in agreement, harmony and oneness with nature. In this way one exercises one's will in autonomy ether than reacting passively to external events. As Epictetus put it, a virtuous man is "sick and yet happy, in peril and yet happy, dying and yet happy, in exile and happy, in disgrace and happy." A man of virtue makes honourable moral choices. Stoicism was a philosophy of life which was to be actively pursued through of constant practice. Its spiritual practices comprised logic, Socratic dialog and self-dialog, contemplation of death, training attention to remain in the present moment (that is, meditation), and daily reflection on everyday problems and possible solutions. Stoicism was cosmopolitanism and egalitarian. All human beings were manifestations of the universal spirit. There should be brotherly love and mutual help. Wealth and social ranks did not matter and all human beings were equal. (MORE)
