Stoic slogan

Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, chose the following tight slogan for the school:

In its conciseness, the phrase by itself is hard to understand. Because of that, its interpretation is and has often been object of controversies. Sometimes the longer version can be found: “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature”. The Hellenistic principle is a way to contextualize the Stoic slogan with few presumptions, while keeping the overall consistency of the system.

The Hellenistic principle can be regarded as the theoretical basis upon which the Hellenistic schools, such as Stoicism operate, though each taking on its very distinct approach to realise it. For the Stoics, this approach consists in controlling your inner mental attitudes towards (inner and outer) things. By having total control over your judgement regarding these things, you achieve happiness by not wanting anything outside of your own reach. This control of judgment enables you to be in a situation where there is nothing more to want. And this, right in line with the Hellenistic principle, leads to the peaceful state of mind that is happiness. The agreement mentioned in the Stoic slogan is the agreement of needing and wanting – and living to it is the Stoic path to eudaimonia (a flourishing life or happiness).¹

What exactly is happiness?

→ Stoic happiness