The Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote:
“But as things are, although we have it in our power to apply ourselves to one thing alone, and devote ourselves to that, we choose instead to apply ourselves to many things, and attach ourselves to many, to our body, and our possessions, and our brother, and friend, and child … And so, being attached in this way to any number of things, we’re weighed down by them and dragged down”
(Epictetus, Discourses 1.1)
Stoicism is a very simple philosophy. The only thing that is truly good is Virtue, and the only thing that is truly bad is Vice. The Stoics believed that although we “have it in our power” to devote our lives to Virtue, this proves to be incredibly difficult.
The reason is that all of the things that human beings normally care about, such as our bodies, our possessions, and our relationships, weigh us down. We worry about what people think of us, how we look, and whether the things we have are safe. Instead of dedicating our lives to developing and practicing Virtue, we choose to attach ourselves to everything but Virtue.
But what is Virtue?
According to Stoicism, Virtue is a state of our souls that consists in the ability to appropriately choose how much value to place on the things that lie outside of our control. When we experience some misfortune, for example, we have the ability to choose whether we think it is truly bad for us or not. The Stoics believed that the only appropriate value to place on things beyond our control is what they called “indifference”. Again, the only thing that is truly good is Virtue.
The reason that the Stoics believed Virtue is the only good is that it is the only thing that is always good for us. When considering everything else in life that we normally value, the Stoics believed that these things can be used for either good or bad. For example, in the hands of a vicious person, money can be used to buy terrible things. In the hands of a virtuous person, money can be used to help others. Virtue is fundamentally different than money, because it can never be used for evil and is, therefore, always good.
The Stoics believed that by focusing on the one thing that is truly in our control, we can live more peaceful and contented lives.