Philosophy
Related: About this forumStoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.[1]
Stoics were concerned with the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature. Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life, and they thought that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how he behaved.[2]
Later Stoics, such as Seneca and Epictetus, emphasized that because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage was immune to misfortune. This belief is similar to the meaning of the phrase "stoic calm", though the phrase does not include the "radical ethical" Stoic views that only a sage can be considered truly free, and that all moral corruptions are equally vicious.[1]
From its founding, Stoic doctrine was popular with a following in Greece and throughout the Roman Empire including the Emperor Marcus Aurelius until the closing of all philosophy schools in AD 529 by order of the Emperor Justinian I, who perceived their pagan character as being at odds with the Christian faith.[3][4]
more at link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)that is excellent. i am so glad i came in and read this one. i gotta catch up, but my brain doesnt do the academic as well as it used to. thank you much. i was gonna actually say something about this in the middle of reading, but alas, i forgot.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)I guess Spock would be a classic Stoic
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)happy. lol
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)A laconic phrase is a concise or terse statement, named after Laconia (a.k.a. Lacedaemon [Greek Λακεδαίμων]), a polis of ancient Greece (and region of modern Greece) surrounding the city of Sparta proper. In common usage, Sparta referred both to Lacedaemon and Sparta. Similarly, a laconism is a figure of speech in which someone uses very few words to express an idea, in keeping with the Spartan reputation for verbal austerity.
Uses
A laconic phrase may be used for efficiency (as in military jargon), for philosophical reasons (especially among thinkers who believe in minimalism, such as Stoics), or for better disarming a long, pompous speech (the most famous example being at the Battle of Thermopylae).
In humour
The Spartans were especially famous for their dry wit, which we now know as "laconic humour".[1] This can be contrasted with the "Attic salt" or "Attic wit", the refined, poignant, delicate humour of Sparta's chief rival Athens.
History
Spartans focused less than other Greeks on the development of education, arts, and literature.[2] Some view this as having contributed to the characteristically blunt Laconian speech. However, Socrates, in Plato's dialogue Protagoras, noting Spartans' ability to seemingly effortlessly throw off pithy comments, appears to reject the idea that Spartans' economy with words was simply a consequence of poor literary education: "... they conceal their wisdom, and pretend to be blockheads, so that they may seem to be superior only because of their prowess in battle ... This is how you may know that I am speaking the truth and that the Spartans are the best educated in philosophy and speaking: if you talk to any ordinary Spartan, he seems to be stupid, but eventually, like an expert marksman, he shoots in some brief remark that proves you to be only a child".[3] Socrates was known to have admired Spartan laws,[4] as did many other Athenians,[5] but modern scholars have doubted the seriousness of his attribution of a secret love of philosophy to Spartans.[6] Still, two Spartans Myson of Chenae and Chilon of Sparta were traditionally counted among the Seven Sages of Greece to whom many famous sayings were ascribed.
In general, however, Spartans were expected to be men of few words, to hold rhetoric in disdain, and to stick to the point. Loquacity was seen as a sign of frivolity, and unbecoming of sensible, down-to-earth Spartan peers. A Spartan youth was reportedly liable to have his thumb bitten as punishment for too verbose a response to a teacher's question.[7]