So you may not know what a stoic is. A stoic is a person who does not show emotion or even any kind of feeling. Mr. Spock from Star Trek is a great example of someone who is stoic. Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The philosophy of stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citium, who taught that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity. They actually believe that it is a virtue to not show your emotions, that one should show wisdom, courage, temperance or moderation, and justice, and one should live in accordance with nature. According to Wikipedia, The Fathers of the Church regarded Stoicism as a “pagan philosophy”; nonetheless, early Christian writers employed some of the central philosophical concepts of Stoicism. Examples include the terms ‘logos’, ‘virtue’, ‘Spirit’, and ‘conscience’. But the parallels go well beyond the sharing and borrowing of terminology. Both Stoicism and Christianity assert an inner freedom in the face of the external world, a belief in human kinship with Nature or God, a sense of the innate depravity—or ‘persistent evil’—of humankind, and the futility and temporary nature of worldly possessions and attachments. Both encourage Ascesis(the practice of severe discipline) with respect to the passions and inferior emotions, such as lust, and envy, so that the higher possibilities of one’s humanity can be awakened and developed. Stoic influence can also be seen in the works of Ambrose of Milan, Marcus Minucius Felix, and Tertullian. New interest in Stoic logic came in the 20th century, when important developments in logic were based on propositional logic. The revival of Stoicism in the 20th century can be traced to the publication of Problems in Stoicism by A. A. Long in 1971, and also as part of the late 20th-century surge of interest in virtue ethics. Contemporary Stoicism draws from the late 20th- and early 21st-century spike in publications of scholarly works on ancient Stoicism. Beyond that, the current Stoicist movement traces its roots to the work of Albert Ellis, who developed rational emotive behavior therapy, as well as Aaron T. Beck, who is regarded by many as the father to early versions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Stoicism has its good points because one should control their anger, but on the other side of the coin, one should be able to express their joy, their love, and even their sorrow at the time of loss. We are all human, and we all were created to have emotions and feelings, but it is wise to keep them all in check and in balance. Stoicism is a little extreme, but then one who can not control their emotions, especially anger can lead us into problems and left unchecked can over take our personality and change us into people who have lost our love, compassion and even our souls. About two thousand years ago one wrote that the love of many would turn cold and that they would call good evil and evil good. Self-control is a virtue, but not being human is a great flaw.
