A Stoic’s Duty

Eden, London, December 2022

It is often thought that the concept of moral duty is a modern invention, attributed to Immanuel Kant. However, the ancient Greek philosophy which predates Kantian ethics suggests otherwise. Inducing both harsh criticism and enthusiasm along the way, Stoicism has stayed strong for over 2,000 years. Its aim? Human happiness.

As a eudemonistic theory, Stoicism deems ‘εὐδαιμονία’ or ‘happiness’ to be the culmination of human endeavour, known as an end. Its founder Zeno defines this end as “ὁμολογουμένως τῃ φύσει ζῆν” or‘living in agreement with nature', which Kant would have regarded as a hypothetical, not categorical, imperative. However, despite Stoic resistance to the universalisation of maxims, the phrase “τῃ φύσει” meaning ‘with nature’ indicates that they may have derived early notions of moral duty. Because ‘nature’ is such a central coefficient of Stoicism, a Stoic’s understanding of the aim of human striving is both rich and multivalent.

In the first instance, the end may refer to our nature as human beings, explained by the theory of οἰκείωσις or ‘appropriation’. It outlines that the impulse of everything is an affiliation towards whatever one belongs to. Thus, the first act of οἰκείωσις is towards maintaining our own existence; so, where plants bear fruit in the season, humans behave according to their unique capacity for reason. Hence, much like Spinoza’s conatus, Stoicism may suggest that to live in agreement with our nature as rational beings, we are obligated to act as such.

Following on, because Stoics believe that all things are mutually interdependent according to the design of an impersonal deity, the theory explains that our second act of οἰκείωσις will be an affiliation towards others. However, particularly in the case of humans, since we form part of a larger society of other rational beings, the good of others will always correspond to our own. This belief known as Sympatheia is perhaps best expressed by practising Stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius:

“The universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit based on true value and never for harm.” (Meditations 9.1)

Hence, the second meaning of the end as living in agreement with others illustrates that morality is both natural and logical. Consequently, because the first definition proposes that our primary obligation is to be rational, by extension we are also rationally obligated to be moral. This is reinforced by the ensuing concept of “καθήκοντα” or ‘appropriate behaviours’, which οἰκείωσις relates are adopted through the process of affiliation. Given that the pre-Stoic use of καθήκον has a prescriptive and normative force, evidently Zeno must have selected it to denote moral obligations. Therefore, it is clear that Stoicism at least precedes Kantian ethics in conceiving moral duty, despite being a eudemonistic theory. However arguably, since the Stoics rationalise moral and loving acts as necessary for functioning as opposed to merely right, they make an even more compelling account of moral duty than Kant.

Thus, it is no surprise that Stoic morality has proved to be highly influential throughout the ancient and modern worlds. Aside from ambassadorship by emperor Marcus Aurelius, slave Epictetus, and playwright Seneca, possibly one of its greatest legacies is cosmopolitanism. Originating from οἰκείωσις, the Stoic interpretation of cosmopolitanism is that goodness requires serving others as best one can, and that the most effective service typically requires political engagement, explained in traces of Chrysippus’ On Lives. This is a principle present in everything from Roman Imperialism to the UN, which has and will continue to define the role of citizens for millennia to come.

Overall, it can be seen that the Stoic pursuit of happiness through the wider context of our existence is both highly cogent and grounded. Therefore, it is understandable why Stoicism has stood the test of time, but also why it may become a progressively pertinent philosophy in an increasingly interconnected world.