The Four Virtues of Stoicism

The Four Virtues of Stoicism

Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, and Justice. These four tenants, also called Cardinal Virtues, of Stoicism overlap and combine to create the basis for how we Stoics live our lives and foster inner peace and tranquility despite the storms that rage around us.

Wisdom

Wisdom isn’t about street smarts or intelligence with Stoicism, it is more of… an ideal. An ideal that to practice wisdom is to understand the metaphorical firehose of information we have access to in today’s world and finding a way to filter out the bullshit to find the nuggets of actually applicable information that will help further our knowledge on meaningful things. We will get into the specifics in a moment.

Wisdom, as defined by the Webster Dictionary, is the quality of being wise, encompassing the ability to make sound judgements, discern inner qualities, and understand relationships, often gained through experience.

From the Stoic perspective, wisdom is not so much finding information to gain knowledge and experience, but more seeking out appropriate sources of the information we need and weeding out the false sources of information. Similar to when a teacher would tell you to research your sources for a paper to make sure they are credible before citing them for your assignment. In this case, we are seeking teachers, whether those be in the form of authors, actual teachers or professors, mentors, or online communities and resources to better understand a topic or idea.

Another aspect of Wisdom in Stoicism is the fact we have two ears and one mouth for a reason according to the founder of Stoicism, Zeno.

We should listen more than we speak, read often and actually absorb the information we are consuming rather than… i don’t know…. doom scrolling TikTok in bed for 3 hours instead of reading that one book we promised ourself we would start reading before summer ends… because I’m definitely not guilty of that (sarcasm).

Anyway, wisdom at its core is being intentional with our knowledge seeking journey. This could be for school or lifelong learning about any particular subject or topic you find most useful to you. Keyword here is useful. Learning random skills with no direction to them is not instilling wisdom in everyday life. It’s like learning parlor tricks to impress someone, it doesn’t further your mind or body in a meaningful way or make your life better. In the end, it’s just that, a parlor trick.

The last aspect I’ll cover is that of finding the right teacher. Seeking knowledge and some path to better yourself is great, but with the wrong teacher or a mediocre one, it is likely to cause you to takes steps back instead of forward or even worse in my opinion, reach a plateau of knowledge where you have no idea where to turn for the next piece of the puzzle, lost in a forest with no idea where the trail restarts.

Wisdom as a whole is essential to us as humans, to reason and logic our way around problems and problematic people. Choose wisdom over ignorance and you’ll live a better life.

Courage

Key Aspects of courage include the following:

Facing Fear: Stoics recognize that fear is a natural human emotion, but it should not dictate one's actions. Instead of avoiding fear, they confront it, understanding that discomfort and even pain are part of life.

Rational Action: Stoic courage is rooted in reason and wisdom. It involves making deliberate decisions based on principles of virtue, rather than being driven by impulsive reactions or emotional turmoil.

Endurance and Perseverance: Stoic courage is not about recklessness or rashness; it's about enduring hardship and persevering in the face of challenges. It's the quiet strength to keep going when things are difficult.

Prioritizing Virtue: Stoics believe that courage is essential for living a virtuous life. It enables individuals to act with justice, wisdom, and temperance, even when it is difficult or unpopular.

Acceptance of What Is: A key aspect of Stoic courage is accepting the things that are beyond one's control, including external circumstances and even death. This acceptance allows for a focus on what one can control: one's own thoughts and actions.

Internal Resilience: Stoic courage fosters inner strength and resilience, allowing individuals to remain calm and composed even in stressful situations.

Moral Integrity: Stoic courage is closely linked to moral integrity. It encourages individuals to stand up for what is right, even when it is difficult or unpopular, and to act in accordance with their values.

In essence, Stoic courage is the ability to live virtuously in the face of life's challenges, embracing both the good and the bad with wisdom, resilience, and a commitment to doing what is right.

As I was planning the episode for Courage, episode 4, my girlfriend sent me a photo, an art work that is now the background on my phone. It's a pair of snarling wolves with the words refuse resist revolt written across it one on each line with the wolves snarling in-between. It was fortuitous she would send me this while I was planning for the Courage episode this past week. It's a great saying, and a reminder that courage is standing up and facing that which tries to beat us down. In the Queer community we know all about that. The political climate seems especially focused on us as of late.

Anyways, the phrase that is now my phone background is a great start to the conversation on Courage in the face of adversity. Lets break it down shall we:

• REFUSE - We must refuse to follow the masses of hate and discord that seek to pull us under. As we are pushed and pulled with the current of the events around us. Anchor yourself in the knowledge that you deserve to exist as you are.

• RESIST - We must resist the urge to give in to hatred and malice, things that are against nature. Use the anchor point and focus your energy on doing your share of good to keep the balance. We push back not meeting violence with violence, but by responding to violence with peace and redirection of resources to those in need of them most.

• REVOLT - This one took a bit for me to reframe in a Stoic mindset. Going against nature is not within the Stoic mindset, but doing political good is. Political good in the sense of taking an active interest in improving the lives of those around you and caring about your fellow humans.

We are no strangers to adversity in the Queer community, but it doesn't have to define us. We deserve to exist just like any other minority group deserves to exist in this world. Acting on courage instead of fear is what will win the day for us in the end in my opinion.

We can live our lives in peace if we have the courage to do so despite criticism, political climates, or any other external force. Focus on what is in your control and maintain your virtues is my best advice.

Temperance

Temperance in the context of Stoicism is Moderation. Moderation in life, work, all the areas you find yourself in as you move through the days, months, years. Too much of a good thing, can still be bad for you. Drink in moderation. Drink Responsibly. These phrases are common and have been around for quite awhile. But they are all examples of Temperance, or at least serve as reminders for it.

Moderation, is not just about alcohol, drugs, or other substances that have the potential to alter your state of mind or body. It can be in reference to food, sex, thought patterns, behaviors, snap judgements or triggers for anger and anxiety, I could go on but it would take up the whole show and we don't need that… you get the point though right?…. Right.

So, anyway, Moderation is an ideal, you'll find a lot of ideals in Stoicism. They aren't commandments, they aren't black and white, they're practices, thoughts or actions to move forward and do better over time, to grow. We could all use more growth in our lives.

That Dichotomy of Control, it is a common theme here too. Everything is interconnected with Stoicism. We are discussing the virtues in pieces but all of them come into play at some point or in any combination in a situation. But we will dive into them individually in sections first and combine them later. You will still hear pieces of the other virtues when i talk about each one, as I'm sure you've already noticed.

Our world is a world of consumption; food, media, sex, drink, all manner of things that can be consumed. Temperance comes into play here when we are examining a consumption we are engaging in. Are we consuming without a care? Are we eating more than what is needed? Are we watching videos endlessly that aren't adding something to our knowledge or self-discovery?

Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely guilty of over eating, or doom-scrolling even as a practicing Stoic I struggle with these things like anyone. But that's why it's called practice. It takes time to change your thinking, when I look back at the man I used to be I have come leaps and bounds from then to now. I often reflect on this in my journal. It helps me keep perspective. I encourage you to journal if you can, it can be digital notebook like I use, a physical journal for that purpose, or even a cheap notebook from the dollar store. It doesn't have to be fancy. Start simple.

Anyway, little off topic, moderation among consumption… right. We consume on a daily basis, but tempering our consumption is key.

Moderate your consumption of social media for starters, have you learned anything new and valuable, key word 'and'. Sure you may have learned some random fact you didn't know before, but was it valuable to you?

I'm not saying you have to only consume media that furthers your knowledge and nothing else, not saying that. But limit, moderate your doom-scrolling, media consumption of memes and TikToks for entertainment and seek knowledge too. There are great, book recommendations, music discovery, new hobbies or skills available on social media from creators too. I've learned of many new books on my to read list, as well as music that brings me joy. Even creators in the podcasting industry that have had great advice that has helped me polish my workflows for the show. It was all thanks to social media.

Social Media doesn't have to be this negative thing all the time, there are nuggets of gold in the rubble of misinformation, political garbage, and shit talking. You just have to find them. Social Media can still be a part of your life even if you're looking at practicing philosophy, whether it be Stoicism or other school of thought. Just because the ancient Philosophers wore robes, lived without technology or modern medicine, doesn't mean we have to give up the advancements our society has made and still seek the guidance of their lessons. They just need to be viewed through a modern lens.

To put it in perspective for the average Queer life, Temperance can come in the form of not pushing ourselves too far outside our comfort zone in our journey.

for example, if you are one of our baby queers, meaning you are jut coming out of your shell for the first time, start small. This community is vast and wide, it can be overwhelming. Moderate your exposure to it, take it slow. We'll still be here I promise. We've always been here.

Another form of Moderation, would be the triggers we run into everyday, I don't want to single anyone out so I'll use myself as an example, I still get misgendered in public sometimes. It use to trigger my anxiety and dysphoria but then I stopped, tempered myself and realized I was being misgendered when I was presenting as a woman too. People are…. stupid. And you can't fix stupid.

So take it in stride, cisgendered people get misgendered all the time, it may bother them to a degree but be confident in yourself and know that these people don't know you personally, it is not a personal attack. It doesn't have to disturb you, moderate your trigger events, take a step back, take a deep breath and don't jump at the first thought in your head if it is a powerful negative.

Practice Moderation of thought and take control, there's that word again, control. The only thing within your control is you. Don't allow outside people burst your bubble, be loudly, proudly, queer.

Another form of Moderation in the Queer life is dysphoria, this is more commonly seen as a transgender experience admittedly but I want to make sure all Queer people can learn something about moderating thought patterns as well. I'll use Dysphoria as an example.

For those that don't know Dysphoria as defined by psychiatry is a state of unease or general dissatisfaction with life. Gender Dysphoria is a separate definition; which is the psychological distress from the incongruence, or disconnection, between the sex assigned at birth and desired attributes of the gender a trans person identifies as. Any queer can experience Dysphoria. Gender Dysphoria is a trans person experience, but general dysphoria can come in the form of not having the style we seek for ourselves to present to the world who we are as queer people, the physical attributes; like muscle definition, density, or our weight in general. You can still be Dysphoric about these things without being Trans.

In the sense of Moderation and tempering our thought patterns when it comes to Dysphoria, regardless of the type, when we have a dysphoric moment, it is important to once again take a step back, take a deep breath and examine the triggering event. You can use a grounding exercise my partner has used for me which I will share, it is actually quite popular apparently and used often in psychiatry:

• Name 5 things you can see

• Name 4 things you can hear

• Name 3 things you can touch

• Name 2 things you can smell

• Name 1 thing you can taste

The order of the senses used may vary depending on the source of the exercise or whichever order you feel is the most grounding. I have had panic attacks and this exercise coupled with lying on a cold tile floor has helped bring me out of them so I can better examine the trigger event(s) that lead to the attack.

Sometimes we can't avoid triggers, it's part of that common theme of what is in our control, we can't control events outside ourselves that may trigger us, but we can control our reaction to it, be it grounding, redirection, or powering through. Whichever works for you within your comfort and you got it.… control.

We can't change what has happened in the past, only what we do now and in the future to grow.

Justice

Justice is an ideal which instills a sense of overall kindness, fairness, and responsibility towards the community around you and even, in some situations, humanity as a whole. There will be a lot of mention to acting in accordance with nature in this episode which is a very common theme in Stoicism. The general idea is that nature is the natural order of things around us. Naturally the world is a virtuous place, the actions of others within it are what make it seem… not so much. Going against nature would create a negative impact on the world around you such as hate, violence, etc. This is not necessarily legality based, it is more like… the natural order of the universe. Something beyond the physical. Even laws created by those in power can be against nature… obviously. So don't align Stoic Justice with legal frameworks so to speak. It is beyond that.

Stoic philosophy views justice as a fundamental virtue, intertwined with reason and natural law, extending beyond legal frameworks to encompass fairness, kindness, and a sense of universal interconnectedness. It's not just about punishment or upholding the law, but about acting in accordance with virtue and contributing to the well-being of the community.

Some key aspects of Stoic justice:

• Virtue and Reason: Stoics believe justice is rooted in reason and living in accordance with nature, which dictates that we should act virtuously and contribute to the common good. The Stoic ideal of Justice is less about legality and more about social Justice if I were forced to put it into a single sentence. It is much more complicated than that in reality, but that is the simple gist to get us started. Legal justice is of course important and I'll talk more on that in a bit, but as a whole it, meaning legal justice, is not the same as Stoic Justice.

• Interconnectedness: Stoicism emphasizes that all humans are part of a larger whole, interconnected and interdependent. This understanding fosters a sense of responsibility towards others and a motivation to act justly. As humans we may be separated by invisible lines in the ground that dictate where certain territories end and begin, which doesn't make us any different than other humans at our core. In the end we are all connected, Stoic Justice emphasizes this and takes into account that connection of all humans as a common species and takes it a step further. We are all individually responsible for putting good into the world, feeding positive action and intent in and filtering negativity out. Each person regardless of their position in life has the capacity to make meaningful change because we are all connected in the first place.

• Kindness and Fairness: Justice involves treating others with kindness, fairness, and respect, recognizing their inherent worth and striving for equitable outcomes. Notice I said Equitable, there is a difference between equality and equity. Equity more closely aligns with what we all want, individuals being seen as that, individuals with different needs, limitations, opportunities, and experiences. Equity takes all of that into account when searching for inputs to drive an equal input for all. Justice is like that as well. Taking into account the other people and giving room for their unique positions in life to offer kindness and fairness to them in a given situation.

• Truth and Courage: Stoic justice also encompasses speaking truth to power, meaning regardless of the consequences we face for it, we should always speak the truth even if it were to upset the powerful person we say it to. There are many a thing I'd like to say to a certain tangerine, but I am not where he is and doubt I would be able to get close enough to speak with him in the first place. Anyway, standing up for the rights of others, and acting courageously in the face of injustice is one of the most notable aspects of Stoic Justice. I mentioned last episode that courage and justice as virtues go hand in hand more often than the others. And this is what I was referencing.

• Beyond Legal Definitions: As I mentioned before, avoid a common pitfall of the virtue of Justice being synonymous with legal justice. While we Stoics acknowledge the importance of law and order, and absolutely there needs to be law and order to conduct ourselves as a society as a whole. However, our Stoic concept of Justice as a virtue to live by extends to all aspects of life, it's beyond the limitations of the legal systems in place, these extensions include personal conduct, social interactions, and relationships with family and community.

• Compassion and Forgiveness: Stoic justice includes a capacity for compassion and forgiveness, recognizing the imperfections of human nature and the potential for growth and redemption. This one has been difficult for me in the past, I used to be much more quick to anger, lacked the capacity for forgiveness in certain situations, and to a degree this is still true, though not nearly as severe. It's still a work in progress.

There is a distinct difference between Justice and Revenge, it is simple but powerful:

At its core Justice is that which we practice for the good of all, revenge is what we do for ourselves alone.

Revenge is a dangerous slope to fall down. I have tasted the bittersweet fruit of revenge and it did far more harm than good for not only the person I acted against, but myself as well.

It cost me time, friendships, relationships, money, and morality

I used to think revenge was THE answer, I thought it was a combination of justified punishment and a lesson to whomever I was taking revenge against. I thought maybe if I enacted what I used to think was justice upon who had slighted me they would think twice before doing it again or to someone else. I suppose even in my "villain era" as I like to call it, I was still a humanitarian, if a bit skewed on the concept at the time.

That point in my life has been described as a Chaotic - Good alignment, intention was positive but the methods were… morally questionable.

I won't go into detail of how and why I thought Revenge was the same as Justice, it's a bit much and not something I like reliving. I have done my best to work through the issues and trauma where my taste for revenge came from, and it is still a process. A practice of Wisdom if you will, to remind myself daily not to act on my first thought, but to internalize and breathe first, then focus on my second thought, the one that speaks truth instead of intense emotional triggers that ultimately leads me down a rabbit hole I prefer to steer clear of now.

A passage I often return to when my anger tries to get the best of me;

"The soul does violence to itself when it turns away from any man, or even moves towards him with the intention of injuring, such as are the souls of those who are angry."
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, book 2, page 26

It offers me comfort and reminds me of Stoic Justice which is where I like to keep my mindset most of the time.

Epictetus had this to say as far as Justice, "Who are you? In the first place, a human being, which is to say, a being possessed of no greater faculty than free choice, with all your other faculties subordinate to it, choice itself being unconfined and independent." - Discourses and Selected Writings, Book 2.2 section 10 line 1, p 95.

This is from the section entitled Social Roles as a guide to conduct. We are all of us human, we are as Epictetus put it later in the section, citizens of the universe, meaning we take our place in the natural order of the universe as its governance, not servants to it. In this context, governance is not control, it is more like a caretaker, someone who understands the nature of whatever they care for. Be that animals, other humans, tiny humans, or plants. A caretaker understands the nature of their charges and doesn't seek to control them, but cultivate and guide them to grow.

Tying this back into the LGBTQ+ community we have our social roles within our community and how they pertain to the universe as well. Epictetus gives examples of the roles Citizen, Son, and Brother. These three roles culminate into creating the social rules all humans should live by to maintain their sense of justice and being a productive member of society.

Now even though this is using gendered language, please keep in mind these writings are from over 2000 years ago so we must take the terminology with a grain of salt and examine the deeper meaning to interpret for the modern era. Let me rephrase these social roles into something a little more interesting…

Again I stress that we are not meant to control what is not within our control. We are meant to lead our own lives in virtue and reason to influence change by changing ourselves and what we have the capacity to change with our actions.

I understand this will sound fanciful and unrealistic, especially in today's geopolitical climate across the world because of a walking tangerine… that is as political as I am going to get, I promise. But back to the point, this is not necessarily fanciful or unrealistic. It is simply a different way of looking at how we effect change in the world, we don't need to hold public office or be rich beyond reason to effect change.

• Universal Citizen - At the top tier, as citizens of the universe; as they are described by Epictetus, we are responsible for maintaining the natural order of the universe with reason and virtue leading the way.

• Universal Scions - As a synonym for Offspring, I thought this would be an interesting notion. We are the Scions of our queer ancestors, we are building upon their journeys and struggles and carving a pathway for future generations.

• Universal Kindred - This one isn't a synonym but a term unique to Stoicism as far as I have noticed. In this context it is like kinfolk. We are all kindred to each other, meaning we are interconnected, not by blood, but by reason and our species as humans.

The small acts when grouped together can enact powerful change, for example peaceful protests. Protests when done properly and peacefully can be more annoying than anything, but also concerning to those in power and that annoyance and concern drives change.

We are all human, regardless of how we identify in terms of gender or sexuality. And as humans we are all connected to each other by reason. It is our reason that sets us apart from wild animals, it is our reason that gives us the ability to articulate our identity.

All this to say that Stoic Justice as it pertains to the LGBTQ+ community is, at its core, the ability to use reason to stand up for what is right and just for the common good whether that be for the members of community, our allies, even those that are against us. We must maintain reason and stand up for the righteous actions.

In Stoicism, Justice is not an isolated virtue but a unifying force that directs and gives purpose to the other three cardinal virtues: Wisdom, Courage, and Temperance. We Stoics believe that true virtue requires all four to work together, as they are a single, unified expertise in living well. For Stoics, justice is defined as our duty to our fellow human beings and society, grounded in the belief that all people are interconnected.

• The interconnectivity of justice and the other virtues:

  • Justice and Wisdom

    • Wisdom, or practical knowledge, guides us to understand our place in the universe and make sound judgments based on reason. Justice provides a specific application for that wisdom: to act virtuously in social situations. A Stoic doesn't just know what is good; they apply that knowledge to act for the common good. Wisdom informs the just person what is right, fair, and beneficial for the entire community.

  • Justice and Courage

    • Courage is the fortitude to face challenges and act rightly in the face of adversity, fear, or pain. Justice ensures that courage is used for a virtuous purpose rather than for reckless or selfish ends. For the Stoics, true courage is championing the cause of right, even when it is difficult or dangerous to do so. This is demonstrated by Stoics like Cato the Younger, who stood for the Roman Republic at great personal risk.

  • Justice and Temperance

    • Temperance is the practice of moderation and self-control, ensuring that desires and impulses don't lead to excess. It relates to justice by restraining selfish impulses that would lead a person to take more than their fair share or act unjustly toward others. A temperate person avoids the extremes of excessive pleasure or anger, which allows for clear-headed, just action. This self-restraint is necessary to act for the common good, rather than being driven by personal wants.

• The unifying role of justice:

  • Social Foundation: The Stoics saw humans as social animals with a duty to contribute to the well-being of the wider community. This belief, referred to by the Greek term sympatheia (the mutual interdependence of all things), made justice the social expression of all the virtues.

  • The "Queen Virtue": The Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius considered justice the most important virtue and the "source of all the others". This view highlights that the practice of all other virtues is ultimately in service of treating others with respect, fairness, and compassion.

  • The Hive and the Bee: Marcus Aurelius famously wrote, "What injures the hive injures the bee". This quote perfectly illustrates the Stoic understanding of justice. When you act justly, you are not only helping others, but you are also aligning yourself with the rational nature of the universe.

In hurting others through injustice, you ultimately harm yourself.