Free Will, Determinism, and Stoic Counsel
by Bill Ferraiolo
San Jaquin Delta College, USA
Published August 24, 2006
Stoic philosophy has been charged with an inconsistency insofar as its
deterministic worldview appears to conflict with its advocacy of various
methods of self-discipline aiming at self-improvement. It is, some claim,
self-contradictory to hold persons responsible for adhering to counsel
regarding their behavior and attitude if forces beyond their control ultimately
determine that their behavior and attitude will not conform to counsel. In
this paper, I argue that this complaint is misguided. Though several Stoic
philosophers attempted to reconcile their determinism with some conception
of free will, I contend that the Stoics should have (or at least could have)
rejected the doctrine of free will while defending Stoic counsel and its efficacy
for producing a well-ordered mind, virtuous character, and a life of harmony
with Nature.
