Ataraxia
- “how do you achieve ataraxia”
- “what is ataraxia”
- “difference between ataraxia and apathy”
- “greek word for tranquility”
:: COMPARE ::
AtaraxiavsApatheia
The short answer
Ataraxia concerns disturbance — the mind not being churned. Apatheia concerns the passions specifically — not being carried by irrational impulse. Stoics reached both, though by way of virtue rather than as goals in themselves; Pyrrhonists chiefly the first. Two Greek words English collapses into 'calm', losing the difference between a mind that is not churned and one that is no longer ruled by impulse.
Side by side
| Aspect | Ataraxia | Apatheia |
|---|---|---|
| Absence of | Disturbance | Destructive passion |
| Reached by | Suspending judgement | Correcting judgement |
| Chiefly | Skeptic | Stoic |
| Pursuable directly | No | Only via virtue |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Ataraxia rather than Apatheia are usually searching for phrases like “how do you achieve ataraxia”, “what is ataraxia”, “difference between ataraxia and apathy”.
Apatheia
- “does apatheia mean apathy”
- “did stoics have emotions”
- “what are the stoic passions”
- “stoic emotional control”
Which came first
Apatheia. c. 300 BCE — Zeno of Citium founds Stoicism in Athens, teaching at the stoa poikilê, the painted porch in the Agora.
- c. 300 BCEApatheiaZeno of Citium founds Stoicism in Athens, teaching at the stoa poikilê, the painted porch in the Agora.
- c. 360–270 BCEAtaraxiaThe life of Pyrrho of Elis, founder of Pyrrhonian skepticism, who, according to Diogenes Laertius, travelled with Alexander's expedition to India — how much Indian thought shaped his own is still argued.
Read either one in full