Happiness and Philosophy

Modern Stoicism

Abstract

Modern virtue ethics, originally Aristotelian, has emerged as a viable option to deontological and consequentialist theories. Recent decades have seen the rise of another ancient moral theory, Stoicism. I discuss what I take to be the main differences between these two kinds of ancient virtue ethics as they are presented today, suggesting differences. On the one hand modern virtue ethics in the Aristotelian mold does not seem to demand as great a change to the original version as does modern Stoicism. On the other hand, the appeal of modern Stoicism seems to a large extent to be based on the promise of personal self-control and happiness, perhaps at the expense of moral reflection.