Stoicism is linked to the control of passions.
Stoicism is the ability or willpower of an individual to control their feelings or emotions . Someone stoic, therefore, stands firm in the face of adversity . For example: “The woman showed stoicism in the face of tragedy,” “You have to have stoicism in business if you want to progress,” “When I had to be left off the team, I accepted it with stoicism.”
The notion of Stoicism is also used to name a philosophical school founded by the Greek Zeno of Citium about three hundred years before Christ . Stoic doctrine promoted the control of passions that generate disturbances, appealing to reason and personal virtue .
Principles of Stoicism
According to Stoicism, the key to happiness is found in ataraxia : the balance that is achieved when there are no disturbances. To achieve ataraxia, the individual must remain oblivious to material vicissitudes and must refrain from making judgments.
Stoicism doubted the existence of sensitive knowledge since perception depends on the subject: therefore, given the various situations that the same person goes through or the factors that affect the object, it is impossible for there to be an immediate reproduction of a thing.
The Stoic, therefore, intended to live according to reason and free of passions . Since Stoicism understood passion as a deviation from the rational nature of the human being , it invited people to dominate reactions through self-control. That is why he encouraged a life in tune with natural laws.
For Stoicism, happiness lies in ataraxia.
Pigliucci, current reference for the current
One of the current figures of Stoicism is the philosophy professor Massimo Pigliucci , born in Italy in 1964, who works in the North American university system called City University of New York . In his book titled How to be a Stoic , published by the Ariel publishing house, he gives us a series of tips to take advantage of this current of thought born three centuries before Christ to live better.
According to Pigliucci, there is no single way or group of doctrines to follow to respect the bases of Stoicism, and this clearly differentiates it from certain religions. Stoics move through life combining a series of practices and techniques that they find in their own personal experience , and thus they build their paths individually.
Today's Stoicism
To live Stoicism in the 21st century, the author offers certain "spiritual exercises" that we can apply in our daily lives, such as the following:
* temperance : it is about reflection on the fleeting nature of things. This must be practiced with a special focus on the things most precious to one, those that benefit us most or that we value most, to understand that everything and everyone ceases to exist sooner or later;
* anticipation : it is good to contemplate the potential consequences of our plans, to prevent them from surprising us. In this way, we will have more control over difficult situations;
* self-control : we should not be accomplices to those who try to hurt us, since their provocation can only work if we allow it. Impulses can lead us to our downfall, and that is why we must control them by trying to think coldly just before making the most important decisions;
* solidarity : Stoicism seeks a harmonious life with our environment, and that is why it proposes empathizing with the pain of others, as if it were our own;
* observation : human beings tend to give their opinions much more frequently than to observe in silence , and this prevents them from becoming rich. It is very important to find the content before sharing it, to only say things that can serve a purpose, instead of wasting saliva and energy covering up silence, one of our most valuable resources.