It’s so easy to get lost in all the schools of philosophy, especially, when a lot of them are commonly misunderstood. Today, we’ll take a closer look at two of the main schools – Stoicism and Skepticism.
In a few words, Stoicism divides all the things in the world into those that we can’t control and those that we can control. By focusing on what you can change, you will become happier. Skeptics are sure that humans are not able to achieve absolute truth; if you understand that, you’ll be free of worries.
The History of Stoicism
School: Hellenistic school
Developed by: Zeno of Citium, around 300 B.C.
The main principles: Stoicism is not just a set of beliefs, it’s a way of life that involves overcoming destructive emotions to finally reach inner calm and freedom from suffering.
This school of thought explains that a person can become free through education. At the same time, true Stoics should be able to surrender to God, especially, when dealing with the things that they cannot control.
In order to be virtuous, humans should be able to change their behavior and attitudes. Everybody on this planet is equal and all social creatures should exhibit ethics at all times (simply because it is absolutely natural for them).
Stoicism values apatheia – a state of mind in which a human is not disturbed by passions. In fact, only people with such a mindset can be truly virtuous as their decisions won’t be influenced by their passions. For Stoics, this is the only rational response to the world.
In Simple Words…
The fundamental principle of Stoicism divides all the things in the world into two categories:
- The ones that you can control (your thoughts and actions)
- The ones that you cannot control (what other people do and think, the weather, the past and the future, the laws of nature, where you were born, and so on)
The trick that will lead you to harmony and inner stability is focusing on the things that you can control. Why allow the things from the second category to bother you, if you have no power over them?
This even includes praise and criticism – you can’t control the thoughts of other people, then why feel bad about what these humans have to say about you? Simply accept the right of people to have their own opinion, but don’t let that opinion affect your mood.
By the way, if you focus on what you can change, you’ll ‘unlock’ more space for growth, while focusing on what you can’t control will only hold you back.
The History of Skepticism
School: Hellenistic school
Developed by: Pyrrho of Ellis, the third century B.C.
The main principles: one should avoid making truth claims as in human knowledge there is no such thing as certainty.
Some Skeptics instead of making assertions preferred to question the knowledge of the people who claimed that they knew something. At the same time, Skepticism is not about claiming that absolute truth is impossible (in fact, Skeptics can’t really claim anything).
In Simple Words…
People who chose to become Skeptics might find themselves doubting everything. They are not creators and inventors. In fact, this whole school of thought (unlike any other school) does not assert or preach any truths; instead, they criticize the existing dogmas.
However, that does not mean that Skeptics don’t do anything at all. In ancient times, these people were considered to be ‘seekers and researchers’. But, at the same time, every Skeptic knows that the actual truth will always be unattainable. That is due to the fact that human feelings are unreliable.
Nowadays, the main aim of the majority of Skeptics is not to deny religion or politics, for example. They like to draw the attention of other people to the fact that the movements and teachings feature plenty of dogmas that can (and should) be doubted.
Just try to make sure that your version of Skepticism does not turn into conceited disbelief.
The Perception of Truth: Stoicism vs Skepticism
Both Stoics and Skeptics agreed on the fact that our way of perceiving things is not perfect as we’re using our senses, thus our reasoning abilities can ‘go wrong’.
Stoics believe that there are a few degrees of understanding: perception, assent, comprehension/katalepsis, and knowledge.
For the Stoics, katalepsis is the criterion of truth. A ‘kataleptic’ or an ‘undeniable’ impression is an indication that you’re close to grasping the truth. For example, if you go outside in the broad daylight, you understand that it’s not night due to various factors (and that is a kataleptic impression).
Skeptics, in their turn, are sure that humans cannot achieve certain knowledge, but we can assess the probability of something being ‘true’.
The Concept of Happiness: Stoicism vs Skepticism
The reason why a lot of people turn to philosophy is because they are trying to find meaning in their life; they’re seeking truth and, ultimately, happiness. Both Stoicism and Skepticism, of course, also offer a way to become happy.
Surprisingly, the image of this profound feeling is pretty much the same in both schools. Skeptics and Stoics believed that those who were able to enter the state of ongoing freedom from worry would be incredibly close to becoming happy. Ataraxia might not be the ultimate goal of life, but it is definitely a pleasant byproduct of being a Skeptic or a Stoic.
The main difference is how this worriless state is achieved.
According to Stoicism, you will become free of suffering as soon as you focus on yourself and the things that you can control (the things that are yours). What is not yours belongs to God and He will take action, not you. Freedom will be achieved as soon as you become accepting and indifferent toward the external world.
When it comes to Skepticism, the school of thought embraces the fact that there are no absolutes in this world. All the values are subjective and relative to a specific person. You’ll achieve ataraxia once you accept that.
References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/The-Hellenistic-Age
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pyrrho/
