Stoic - stoical

Be careful to use the words Stoic and stoical correctly - they do not have the same meaning.

Stoicism was a philosophical school or tradition which flourished in the ancient world from about 300 BCE to about 200 CE, first in Greece and then in Rome. A philosopher belonging to this school is said to be a Stoic - note the initial capital. The word Stoic - again with an initial capital - is also used as an adjective to identify, e.g., adherents or doctrines of this school. So we may say 'Chrysippus was a Stoic philosopher' or 'Cicero was sympathetic to the Stoic system of philosophy, even though he rejected some of the central Stoic doctrines'.

The Stoics taught, among other things, that moral virtue (which they believed to consist in living in accordance with nature) is the only true good, and its opposite, vice, is the only true evil. It follows that, for the Stoics, many of the things commonly thought to be good - such as pleasure, good health, and wealth - are not really good, and that they and their opposites - pain, illness, and poverty - are to be seen as indifferent or neutral, i.e., neither good nor bad. Hence, according to the Stoics, whether we experience pleasure or pain, are in good or bad health, and are rich or poor should not be a matter of concern to us; and, in particular, whatever hardships or misfortunes we meet with should be borne calmly, with resignation, and without complaint.

This latter aspect of Stoicism has led to the use of the word stoic and a number of its derivatives - with a lower case initial letter - to characterise the attitudes and actions of individuals who may know nothing about Stoic philosophy but behave as Stoic philosophers should, i.e., they endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining, and bear misfortune with impassivity or resignation. So, for example, we may speak of the stoical attitude of the British public to the austerities of life in Britain during World War II; or when someone undergoes a painful medical procedure without flinching or crying out, we may say that he behaved stoically, describe him as a stoic, and admire his stoicism.

Remember that the adjective stoical always has a lower-case initial letter and means: bearing hardship or misfortune with resignation and without complaint. It cannot be used as a substitute for the adjective Stoic, i.e., it cannot be used to identify an individual as a Stoic philosopher or a doctrine as one of the doctrines of Stoicism.

It may be useful to know that members of the public school Stowe refer to themselves as Stoics (and former students as Old Stoics). This is essentially a form of in-group marker, consisting of a typical form of coded language, with an element of humour therein.

See further Epicurus.