Hi, I'm a Stoic. Stoicism is an old pagan religion from the Roman Empire, the basis and entire idea of it was written in the book "The Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. Essentially, Stoicism refers to the belief that that all things are made up of logos, an energy that knows all. All living things are living because they have the choice to participate or not in destiny, One quote to explain this, is that a small dog can help pull a carriage with two horses, or he can be dragged by the carriage with two horses. He's going to move either way. Another core belief of Stoicism is that no thing is bad or good, but that everything is neutral and we perceive it not to be so. For example, if my house were to burn down, I might become very unhappy because I feel something terrible has happened. When in reality, my house is just burning. There is no good or bad to it.

Huh, I thought Stoicism was more of a branch of Greek philosophy rather than a religion, pre-dating Marcus Aurelius and going back to Zeno of Citium? I know Marcus Junius Brutus was depicted as a stoic in Julius Caesar, and Cato the Younger and Seneca were stoics in real life.

5617788

That is a very imperfect and illogical belief.

For instance, if someone were to be raped and murdered, I'm pretty sure everyone everywhere would agree that this is an act of evil.

5617847
5617788

That is all. Equestria is ours.

5617788 >Being Stoic unironically
You know stoicism is the meme equivalent of nihilism right?

5617847 Just wait till you meet utilitarianism.

5617909 ultramarineism?
Do you purge a lot of Heretics in that faith?

5617847 Speaking as a Classicist, I think the Stoic idea there is a less about the right or wrong of an action for legal purposes, and more about the Stoic's own reaction to it. Basically, finding happiness even when things that might be perceived as bad happen to you, because they're actually, neutral in your belief. If you're dirt poor and homeless, you can still find happiness that way, in theory, because you being poor and homeless is a result of neutral exterior circumstances, not good or bad ones. It's more about making yourself mentally/emotionally immune to misfortune in order to be clear-thinking and focus on the pursuit of knowledge and exercise of virtue unhindered.

5617847 I'm sure they would. Of course there are some people who would deem it to be a good deed, and other people who wouldn't be able to tell between good and evil. It's all perception. In the United States most of the time when someone is raped the majority of people will say that was a horrible thing for the rapist to do. Some people will believe the person deserved to be raped, and therefore it was a good deed. Other people won't know whether it was good or bad because they refuse to judge someone. No matter what, when someone is raped, and no one judges that action, it isn't good or bad. It's neutral. When someone is raped, they perceive it as bad or good or neither. Therefore perception is what creates good and evil, no act is inherently either. Perhaps you can't understand it because you have a Christian past where you believed everything was black and white, good and evil. I'd blame that past on your current philosophy. Although there is another belief in Stoicism, that doing wrong will only hurt yourself. Every belief has its flaws, so there's no doubt Stoicism will have its own.