[From Greek stoa: the portico in Athens at which Zeno lectured.]
(ethics) A school of thought, founded by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (c. 334-262 BCE) and popular in the Roman Empire, that emphasized the ethical independence of the individual by holding that "virtue is enough for happiness" and therefore that one should be indifferent to external goods like wealth, fame, honor, and power. Further, the Stoics believed that true virtue or excellence lies in not experiencing strong passions or negative emotions caused by outside events (cf. fatalism); instead they encouraged one to live according to reason or nature by doing one's societal duty (cf. altruism). In its dualism and intellectualism, Stoicism was an heir to Socraticism that opposed the eudaimonism of Aristotelianism and traditional Greek ethics.