Critique of Stoic Understanding of Negative Emotions
Published in
7 min readJan 13, 2023
Stoics base most of their arguments on human nature and the irrational characteristics of negative emotions. The fundamentals of these concepts define their idea of virtue and good life. In this essay, I will show that the Stoic understanding of negative emotions is wrong by addressing their suppositions on human nature and the rationality of these negative emotions.
One of the essential terms in Stoicism is Apatheia; It refers to a lack of pathē (unhealthy passions). It is important to emphasize that apatheia is different from modern word…