Two Main Greek Philosophies: The Stoics and Epicureans

Stopicism and Epicureanism are philosophies that originated with the Greeks, but were adopted later by the Romans who greatly admired the learning and knowledge of the Greek culture.

Stoics—

Main points:

Free will is an illusion
All good and bad must be accepted without emotion
Emotion is not a good thing and the ideal is a strong, non emotional man of pure reason.

According to the Stoics, the universe is controlled in every detail by God (Zeus), who ordered everything for ultimate good. Humans alone of all creatures are enabled by their reason to perceive this Divine Order; reason is therefore regarded as humanity's special link with the mind of God. The Stoics were deeply deterministic (or fatalistic) and believed that everything in life has been foreordained. Thus man must simply strive to accept unemotionally whatever good or ill the gods have ordained. Man’s free will is an illusion and man himself has very little to say about what happens to him.

The Stoic ethic is mainly a struggle to overcome passion (emotion), which is seen as the great enemy of reason, and a hindrance to virtue. In particular, Stoics fought the emotions of pleasure, desire, fear, and melancholy (sorrow or depression). They strived to be indifferent, to live above their emotions. Their ideal was a man of pure reason who was not moved by feelings.

People use the word today to mean someone who is not showing emotion but rather being “strong” in the face of grief or pain. Someone might say, “He took the punishment like a Stoic.” Or, “She suffered stoically without so much as a word of complaint.”

Epicureans

Main points:

Free will is central
Human beings are solely responsible for their own fate (more or less)
Religion is an illusion
Live with moderation in all things

At the opposite end of the pole, the Epicureans (founded by a man named Epicurus) taught that "nature runs the universe without the aid of gods." Consequently, humans have free will and they are solely responsible for their own actions and, more or less, their own fate. They thought that belief in a god or gods is simply fear of the supernatural, and a superstition. Religious beliefs are an illusion that diminish one's free enjoyment of life. Basically, “what you see is what you get,” so you better try to be happy now because this is all there is.

Epicureans believed that moderation in all things was the best way to be happy. However, over time, Epicureanism became coupled in most people’s minds with hedonism – the belief that you should not deny yourself any pleasure. This was the “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die” crowd. People often call Hollywood stars “hedonistic,” or the term could be used for the (sometimes unfair) stereotype of college fraternities.

Both Groups

Both Epicureans and Stoics believed that the chief purpose in life is to be free from pain and fear. However, they differed sharply in their beliefs in how you’re supposed to achieve that freedom.

Discussion question:

How would you define Christianity’s view of pain and fear and the role they play? Do they have a purpose? What do you think is the Christian view of free will?