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Essential Stoic Concepts

Stoa

God

Essential Stoic Concepts - God

Book Subtitle: A Stoic glossary

Book Description: These are the most important concepts in Stoic philosophy.

Chapter: 13 of 32

Sections: 1

Author: Stoa

The supreme guiding power of the universe, identified with Providence, Fate, and universal nature.

According to the Stoics, god pervades all things in the universe.

Humans, along with everything else from animals and rocks, are all a part of god, because god is the universe.

According to Diogenes Laertius, Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, said that the substance of god was 'the whole world and the heavens'.

One way to think of the Stoic god is as the life-force or energy of the universe.

The Stoics also identified god with fire and heat.

It is what causes movement and activity.

Greek: Theos θεός.