Core Virtues:

1. Wisdom

• Wisdom This is the knowledge of what one ought to do or not do in different situations. It involves understanding how to act and feel appropriately, according to reason.

2. Courage

• Moral Courage: This involves standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity, and enduring pain and hardship with resilience.

3. Justice

• Fairness: Stoics believe in behaving justly towards others and performing one’s duties to society. This includes showing respect for the rights of others and engaging in acts of kindness and charity.

4. Temperance

• Self-control and Discipline: This virtue involves regulating one’s desires and habits to prevent excess. It includes the control of passions and impulses to achieve a balanced life.

Philosophical Concepts:

• The Dichotomy of Control: Stoics distinguish between what is in our control (our own actions and responses) and what is not in our control (most external events and the actions of others). They teach that happiness comes from focusing on the former and accepting the latter.
• Living According to Nature: Stoicism teaches that we should live in harmony with the universe’s rational order, which involves understanding our role in the larger scheme of things and acting in accordance with nature.
• Virtue as the Sole Good: The only true good is virtue (moral excellence) and living according to reason. External conditions like wealth, success, and physical health are indifferent and should not affect our inner peace and moral character.
• Emotion and Indifference: Stoics do not advocate for the complete suppression of emotions but rather for transforming them through rational reflection and self-control. They emphasize being indifferent to external goods and mishaps that lie outside one’s control.