Zeno of Citium · Philosophy

Live in Agreement with Nature

Zeno fixed the goal of human life in a single phrase: <em>live in agreement with nature</em>. To understand it is to understand the whole of Stoic ethics - for &lsquo;nature&rsquo; here means both the rational order of the cosmos and the rational nature we share as human beings.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Zeno defined the human telos - the goal or end of life - as &lsquo;living in agreement,&rsquo; which Cleanthes expanded to &lsquo;living in agreement with nature.&rsquo; &lsquo;Nature&rsquo; means two things at once: the rational order of the whole cosmos, and the rational nature proper to a human bei…

Leads to Epicurus.

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