Zeno
Zeno, a Greek philosopher, was known as the Father of Stoicism. Multiple philosophical systems have claimed that this is the best of all of the possible worlds but Stoicism was among the first.
Stoicism also has many similarities with Christianity. These similarities have made Stoicism one of the most important precursors of Christianity in history. The Stoic system emphasizes fortitude and discipline. This appealed to the Romans and eventually became the most widely followed of the Greek philosophies.
The personal philosophy of Zeno consisted of multiple disciplines: physics, logic, and ethics. However, his theories on ethics were different than the ‘norm’ of the time. His ethics had an almost evangelical view- this was his greatest strength. Zeno believed that men could find the key to happiness within him but in order to do so he had to connect with Nature and attempt to be completely self-sufficient. This meant that man would have to reject all of the traditional values and goods of society. To replace these, man was supposed to harbor the divine reason given to him by God in order to fully understand and accept God’s universe. Zeno believed that because every man had to key to happiness within him, it was independent of social status and that every man, no matter their walk of life, could find eternal happiness. This was known as the Stoic goal and every person was capable of reaching it.
Once a person had reached the Stoic goal they would be fully aware of the laws of Nature and they would willingly follow them because a “beneficent Providence” was overseeing the events. The suffering and misfortune of individuals was seen as unimportant because it was hidden within a larger and more important good. The true and overall goal of the Stoic sage was to reach apathia. This was a state in which a person was entirely indifferent to everything besides his own understanding of things which was given by God. He did not care what happened to
Stoicism also has many similarities with Christianity. These similarities have made Stoicism one of the most important precursors of Christianity in history. The Stoic system emphasizes fortitude and discipline. This appealed to the Romans and eventually became the most widely followed of the Greek philosophies.
The personal philosophy of Zeno consisted of multiple disciplines: physics, logic, and ethics. However, his theories on ethics were different than the ‘norm’ of the time. His ethics had an almost evangelical view- this was his greatest strength. Zeno believed that men could find the key to happiness within him but in order to do so he had to connect with Nature and attempt to be completely self-sufficient. This meant that man would have to reject all of the traditional values and goods of society. To replace these, man was supposed to harbor the divine reason given to him by God in order to fully understand and accept God’s universe. Zeno believed that because every man had to key to happiness within him, it was independent of social status and that every man, no matter their walk of life, could find eternal happiness. This was known as the Stoic goal and every person was capable of reaching it.
Once a person had reached the Stoic goal they would be fully aware of the laws of Nature and they would willingly follow them because a “beneficent Providence” was overseeing the events. The suffering and misfortune of individuals was seen as unimportant because it was hidden within a larger and more important good. The true and overall goal of the Stoic sage was to reach apathia. This was a state in which a person was entirely indifferent to everything besides his own understanding of things which was given by God. He did not care what happened to