Stoicism evolved over hundreds of years. From its earliest forms, it was about metacognition – thinking about what we are thinking. In practice that looks like responding to life’s challenges with reason, emotional resilience, and moral integrity. In the writings of Marcus Aurelius’ he was unconcerned about whether his good deed was witness and celebrated, but rather, that it was done. He also reminded himself regularly of his own mortality and carried a sense of urgency to use his time well.
Through a modern secular lens, these virtues are best relfected as
Φρόνησις | WISDOM
Σωφροσύνη | TEMPERANCE
Δικαιοσύνη | JUSTICE
Ανδρεία| COURAGE
These virtues are a wonderful reminder of who we want to be.
This is the first piece of my exploration of these virtues as a quadriptych! I will post the other three in the days to come.
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