ROMAN MORAL THEORY

            There were two main ethical theories that dominated during the Roman Empire days which were Epicureanism and Stoicism. First there was Epicureanism after the thinker Epicurus (341-270 BCE). He was an Athenian thinker who founded his own “Garden” where his followers lived in order to practice his moral outlook on life. His thought needs to be distinguished from what is called Hedonism which would be based on the theory that the goal of life should be to enhance pleasure and limit pain. This title comes from the Greek word hedon which designates pleasure. Epicurus’ thought was far more sophisticated than that.

            Epicurus did not focus on the amount of pleasure as the criterion of value, but also acknowledged the importance of degrees of pleasure, as well as whether certain pleasures were positive/active or passive/negative in nature. Also, he acknowledged the importance of consequential pain and pleasure. The two false ideas that bring the most unhappiness according to Epicurus are death itself and retribution after death for the sins done during life. Epicurus taught that neither of these experiences should be allowed to bring a person unhappiness because at death all experience ends, period.

            This confidence was based on the materialist theory concerning the nature of reality, namely that all that exists are tiny physical “atoms” which group themselves together in various patterns, and thus everything that is real is comprised of nothing but pure matter arranged in different forms. This atomism explains everything that is and that happens in the world. The main exponent of this atomistic theory was a poet named Lucretius who wrote a poem called On the Nature of Things as a way of explaining and propagating Epicurus’ philosophy. Thus, the main purpose of Epicurean philosophy was to alleviate the fear and misery of everyday life in a time of great upheaval and confusion.

Epicurus taught that if everything in the world is simply a matter or function of tiny value-free physical objects, then all of our values, hopes, and fears are strictly a function of our own personal or social cares and worries. There is no need to hope or fear the Gods, since there are none. All that really matters is what we ourselves can do about life, and in the time we have we should only concentrate on minimizing our own pain and maximizing our own pleasure. This was not a “get all the pleasure you can and package all you get” philosophy, but a simple, rationalistic way to behave given the materialist philosophy upon which it was based.

The Epicurean philosophy of life was largely based on the materialist theories of another Greek thinker named Democritus. He was a materialist philosopher as well and believed all events are simply the result of the changes that take place amongst the various atoms in a strictly deterministic fashion. Epicurus seems to have believed, however, that the attitude and behavior that people take toward the way the atoms arrange themselves will affect their outcomes. Thus, he urged his followers to have proper attitudes and behaviors in relation to the facts they face, thereby having some influence on their personal outcomes in life. At least humans appear to have freewill in regard to their choices they take toward an otherwise deterministic universe.

The other moral philosophy that was prevalent during the early centuries of the Roman era was Stoicism. It was initially based on the thought of the Roman thinker Epictetus who lived from 50 to 130 CE. He is thought to have been the founder of this school of thought, which got its name because some of its early proponents taught their philosophy while walking up and down in the covered market place known as the Stoa, or porch. Perhaps the most well-known Stoic philosopher was Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor from 121-180 CE. Both Cicero and Senaca were also counted among those who followed the Stoic way of life and ethical theories. Even some Christians eventually adopted this way of looking at how the world, under God’s control, works.

The basis of Stoic thought was the belief that the whole of reality is a totally determined system of machine-like existence in which everything happens according to an unchanging, eternally determined pattern of cause and effect. Thus, on the one hand, it would seem that everything we do or decide or think is all determined beforehand, and thus our ideas, feelings, and behavior actually have no influence on what actually happens in the world. Many of the Stoic thinkers believed there is a God who determines the developments and outcomes and thus everything should always turn out for the good. This view resulted from a pantheistic view of the relation between God and the world, namely that they are one and the same reality.

The most extreme forerunner of the Stoic way was Diogenes (412-323 BCE) who was a hermit in the desert and lived in a sort of tub which he carried with him. He is said to have replied to Alexander the Great, who came to see him and asked:”What can I do for you?”, “Please stand out of my sunlight.” Most Stoics were not so extreme in their interpretation of their philosophy. Indeed, Marcu Aurelius the Emperor ran an empire by following his interpretation of the Stoic philosophy. Thus, we can see that the interpretation of Stoic teachings was quite diverse. These teachings involved both a metaphysic, a view of reality, and an ethic.

At the base of Stoic thought was the view that all of reality is one and that it is totally unified and Divine. Thus all that ever happens, both at the inner level and at the cosmic level, is controlled and strictly determined by God’s will. In fact, it is easy to see how and why some Christian thinkers had a great deal in common with the Stoics. Thus, the Stoic ethic involves accepting whatever happens as the result of God’s will and the good and happy life consist in “toughening it out” with whatever comes one’s way. Thus, it is wise to never become so attached to someone, or anything, or an idea that you are thrown off course by its death or finding out that it was wrong. “No complaints and no hopes, just “suck it up.” Many soldiers and even prisoners embraced the Stoic ethic because it provided a way to live with whatever happens.

Will power and self-control in the face of a theistic, determined world proved to be the wise choice then for many soldiers, slaves, and even emperors. There is a great deal to be said for this way of looking at life, even without buying into its deterministic worldview. Accepting the inevitable, providing one knows what is inevitable, makes rational, mature sense. At the same time, it is difficult to simply accept the idea that everything that happens must happen. Yet the attitude we take toward what comes our way often greatly affects how we experience it. Even Saint Paul said: “I have learned that whatever state I am in, therewith to be content.”