So the Stoics talk a lot about virtue as the sole good.

Now what do they mean by virtue and why did they think that it was so important?

In this week's episode, I'm gonna be reading another chapter from my book, Stoicism 101.

Hello, friends.

My name is Erick Cloward and welcome to the Stoic Coffee Break.

The Stoic Coffee Break is a weekly podcast where I take aspects of Stoicism and do my best to break them down to their most important points.

I share my thoughts on philosophy and modern and ancient wisdom, psychology, neuroscience, anything I can get my hands on to help you to think better, because I believe when you think better, you can live better.

This week's episode is called Virtue the Soul.

Good.

But before I begin this week's episode, I just want to thank all of my listeners out there for supporting me over the years.

This is episode number 350, and when I started this podcast, I never thought that I would end up with 350 episodes and doing this for almost eight years now.

I started the podcast as a practice to make a podcast, and then when I decided to do my real podcast, I would have that experience.

But as I put these thoughts and these things out there for you, the response was far greater than what I had expected.

So I appreciate your support over the years, and I hope to have many more years of creating this podcast for you.

Alright, on with this week's episode.

The Sole Good.

Of things.

Some are good, some are bad, and others are indifferent.

The good then are the virtues and the things which partake of the virtues.

The bad are the vices and the things which partake of them, and the indifferent are the things which lie between the virtue and the vices.

Wealth, health, life, death, pleasure, pain.

Epictetus, Unlike many other philosophical traditions, Stoicism teaches that virtue is not merely an attribute of a person's character, but the very essence of what it takes to live a good life.

The Stoics went so far as to posit that living a life of virtue is not just a means to an end, but the end itself, the sole good philosophical definition virtue, according to the Stoics, virtue is the highest good and consists of living in accordance with reason and nature.

Virtue is the foundation of moral character and the key to true happiness.

The Stoics held that there are four cardinal virtues.

Wisdom, the knowledge of what is good and bad courage, the ability to face fear and adversity with strength, justice, treating others fairly, and acting with moral integrity and temperance, self-control and moderation in all aspects of life.

Why virtue so, why would the Stoics argue that the only good in life is the cultivation of virtue?

Wouldn't being comfortable, wealthy or famous also lead to a good life?

The reason that the Stoics felt that virtue was the only good is because developing one's virtue is something that is fully under one's control.

Things that are external to you are things outside of your control.

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and Stoic philosophers, succinctly encapsulates this ethos and his meditations.

Very little is needed to make a happy life.

It is all within yourself in your way of thinking.

Contrast with Aristotle's view of virtue.

Zeno Sit, the founder of Stoicism adopted Plato and Aristotle's idea of the four cardinal virtues as essential for eudemonia flourishing or happiness, but the Stoics diverged significantly from Aristotle's conception of the good life and the role of virtue within it.

Aristotle felt the virtue while central to his teachings was not the sole good.

Rather, it is part of a broader conception of the good life that includes external goods such as wealth, health, and beauty.

Aristotle argued that these external goods, while not intrinsically valuable, contribute to a flourishing life when combined with virtuous activity.

The Stoics, on the other hand argue that external factors, wealth, health, and even life itself, are indifferent to one's moral character and therefore irrelevant to one's happiness.

They neither contribute nor detract from the moral value of your life, but are things against which you can improve your virtue by developing your ability to live virtuously, you can be impervious to the swings of fortune and find inner tranquility in any situation.

Epictetus sums it up succinctly when he says, show me a man who is sick and happy in danger, and happy dying, and happy in exile, and happy in disgrace and happy.

Show him I desire by the gods to see Stoic.

Why these virtues?

So why did the Stoics choose these four virtues over all others?

For the Stoics, the four cardinal virtues are not just abstract ideals, but practical guides for daily conduct and the foundation of ethical living.

They help people to manage what is truly within their control, their responses, decisions and attitudes, thereby fostering resilience, equanimity and moral clarity leading to a life that is impervious to external circumstances.

Marcus Aelius explains this in meditations where he writes, take me and cast me where thy wilt.

For there I shall keep my divine part tranquil.

That is content if it can feel and act conformably to its proper constitution.

Self-reinforcing.

The four cardinal virtues are also self-reinforcing.

It takes courage to practice the self-awareness needed to develop wisdom.

It takes wisdom and temperance to know how to be courageous without being reckless or cowardly.

It takes wisdom, courage, and temperance to apply justice fairly without regard to status or wealth.

Each virtue is necessary to help you develop and strengthen your other virtues implications of the Stoic perspective.

The Stoic perspective on virtue as the sole good has profound implications for ethical living.

It holds the true contentment and moral excellent lie in one's character and choices rather than in the accumulation of external goods or the avoidance of discomfort Is freedom.

Anything else than the power of living as we choose nothing else.

By cultivating a life of virtue, a person strengthens their character, which in turn helps them to weather the ups and downs of life.

By developing virtue, a person can maintain their integrity in all circumstances.

Not only those that seem to be negative, but those that one might consider positive history is filled with stories of those who have gained wealth, power, or fame, and yet ended up squandering their wealth, abusing their power, or finding themselves destitute because of their lack of character.

It takes virtue not only to handle failures, but also to manage the pitfalls that can come with success.

Stoicism presents a rigorous and transformative vision of the good life centered on the primacy of virtue.

By positing virtue as the sole good.

The Stoics offer a stark contrast to what people often believe contributes to a good life as you navigate the complexities of modern life, the Stoic commitment to virtue as the sole good remains a powerful beacon guiding you toward integrity, purpose, and peace.

And that's the end of the chapter from Stoicism 101.

Now for me, this was one of the most interesting chapters within the book because as I was writing this book, I dug into deeper into Stoic philosophy than I had ever done before, even after working on the podcast for several years.

But I noticed over and over how virtue and the definition of virtue that the Stoics have is such a self-reinforcing and such a powerful concept to keep in mind that when you work on one virtue, you need the others to help you to develop that virtue.

And that as you develop each virtue, it helps you with the others.

So it becomes this whole self-reinforcing cycle, which helps you to become a more resilient and better person overall.

So there's, like I said, the Stoics focused on virtue because they found that if you could live a good life by being a good person, then you could handle any misfortune or any success.

And that's the end of this week's Stoic Coffee Break.

As always, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and thanks for listening.

Also, if you haven't picked up my book, Stoicism 101, I would appreciate if you would, you can find out more information about my book at stoic.coffee.

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I would really appreciate it if you would.

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Thanks again for listening.

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