Things that are neither good nor bad, meaning they neither necessarily contribute to, or harm, our happiness.
They include external circumstances, such as health, reputation, and wealth.
They can be preferred, or dispreferred.
You can think of indifferents as things which, on their own, will never make us happy or unhappy.
A wealthy person can still be unhappy and a sick person can still be happy.
Indifferents are an important part of Stoic ethics, because the Stoics think we suffer when we treat indifferents as if they are good or bad.
If we think money is good, then we will desire it at the risk of neglecting other parts of ourselves.
If we think illness is bad, then we will be so anxious at the chance of getting sick that we will suffer.
Greek: Adiaphora
ἀδιάφορα.
Book: Essential Stoic Concepts
Subtitle: A Stoic glossary
Author: Stoa
Chapter: Indifferents (Chapter 19 of 32)
Sections in this chapter:
Section 2:
Things that are neither good nor bad, meaning they neither necessarily contribute to, or harm, our happiness.
They include external circumstances, such as health, reputation, and wealth.
They can be preferred, or dispreferred.
You can think of indifferents as things which, on their own, will never make us happy or unhappy.
A wealthy person can still be unhappy and a sick person can still be happy.
Indifferents are an important part of Stoic ethics, because the Stoics think we suffer when we treat indifferents as if they are good or bad.
If we think money is good, then we will desire it at the risk of neglecting other parts of ourselves.
If we think illness is bad, then we will be so anxious at the chance of getting sick that we will suffer.
Greek: Adiaphora
ἀδιάφορα.