How Stoicism Addressed the Concept of Free Will

The ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism had a unique perspective on the concept of free will. The Stoics believed that while we may not always control external events in our lives, we do have control over our own thoughts, beliefs, and reactions to those events. This idea formed the basis for the Stoic view on free will.

9/29/20241 min read

The Stoic Concept of Fate

At the core of Stoic philosophy was the idea of fate or determinism. The Stoics believed that everything happens for a reason and is predetermined by the rational order of the universe, which they called Logos. In the Stoic worldview, all events are causally linked in an unbreakable chain of cause and effect.

However, the Stoics did not see this deterministic universe as being incompatible with free will. They made an important distinction between external events outside our control and our internal responses which are within our control.

The Stoic Idea of Prohairesis

The Stoics believed that we have the freedom to choose our thoughts, beliefs, and reactions to events through our prohairesis or "moral character." Even if we can't control what happens to us, we can control how we think about it and respond.

Epictetus, one of the most famous Stoic philosophers, wrote: "We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them." The Stoics saw this inner choice as the ultimate expression of human freedom and free will.

Living in Accordance with Nature

For the Stoics, exercising our prohairesis and free will meant living in accordance with nature and reason. By aligning our will with the rational order of the universe, we could achieve eudaimonia or flourishing.

The Stoics believed that we should focus our thoughts and actions only on what is within our control - our own choices, judgments, and character. Everything outside our control should be accepted with equanimity as part of the determined order of the cosmos.

Conclusion

In summary, the Stoics had a compatibilist view of free will. They saw free will as compatible with a deterministic universe, because our ability to freely choose our inner responses was not constrained by external circumstances outside our control.

By exercising the freedom of our moral character and living according to reason, the Stoics believed we could achieve true autonomy and inner peace, even in a world of fate. This Stoic conception of free will as a choice of attitude and inner response remains influential in modern philosophy and psychology.