Hierocles: The Stoic Philosopher of Integrating Ideals into Ethics

Hierocles (2d cent. CE?) Stoic philosopher from Hellenistic Greece His name may not carry the same weight as Epictetus, Seneca or Marcus Aurelius—but Hierocles' writings on ethics have certainly contributed to Stoic thought. He is most known for his role in the moral philosophy of Stoicism and his writings on ethics and sympathy (or benevolence) in human relationships.

Hierocles, who is best known for his sphere of affinity doctrine, used to express the circle of relationships connecting a person with the wider community. He had professed that the right way to think about human relationships was an outward movement of ethical concern, from self to family, friends and then strangers, and ultimately extended to all humankind. The closest thing to a lasting gift from Hierocles to Stoicism probably arises from this notion of interweaving and the moral obligations we have to other people.

Background and context in history

At the time when Stoic philosophy was being wonderfully assimilated into Roman intellectual life, Hierocles was a Stoic philosopher. Stoicism had originally been established in the 3rd century BCE by Zeno of Citium in Athens; it evolved over time, particularly through the contributions made to early Stoicism by Cleanthes and Chrysippus. When Hierocles was writing, Stoicism had already been inextricably entwined with Roman elite philosophical and ethical education, especially due to the writings of Seneca and Epictetus.

Even though other Stoics are more famous, Hierocles is very influential in the ethical aspects of Stoicism on his own. Together with Musonius Rufus and Epictetus, he is often considered part of the Roman Stoics concerned with practical ethics and living life in accordance with nature.

We know very little about the life of Hierocles, and most of his work survives only in fragments, often quoted or cited by later philosophers. Perhaps his most recognised project, the 'Elements of Ethics' (or Ethical Elements) focuses on applying Stoicism to practical situations.

Hierocles on the Ethics of Proximity- The Idea of Concentric Circles

Given this premise, Hierocles next presented a model of human relationships which is one of his most famous contributions to Stoic ethics: the doctrine of concentric circles that defines how we ought to behave towards others. The ancient philosopher Hierocles suggested that the ethical responsibilities of each person expand outwards from concentric circles. The innermost the self, the next ring family, next friends, fellow citizens and all of mankind in the outermost circle.

It operates on the assumption that as our circles of care expand, we have a greater direct moral obligation to those closest to us. At the very least, we have a privileged obligation to tend our own and those closest to us. But, Hierocles urges us to broaden our ethical obligations beyond just those who are closest to us. Extend our moral concern across wider circles, to friends, to compatriots until finally all of humanity.

In this tradition, Hierocles proposed a set of circles within which moral concern should be experienced. The degree of your emotional and moral holding someone holds the closer they are to you. But that nearness does not mean you should forget about those far removed from your immediate orbit. The contrast here is that the Stoic ideal includes putting the well-being of others — including people you have never met and perhaps will never meet — in your moral calculation.

It mirrors the cosmopolitan idea in Stoicism of humanity as an individual organism, one single unit. According to Hierocles this care for humanity is a primal instinct: an obligation the Stoic must identify and work towards fulfilling.

The Sympathy and Benevolence Factor

Beyond the nested circles of care, Hierocles also emphasized sympathy and benevolence in human relationships. In Hierocles' ethics, it was necessary to have goodwill not only towards those closest to one (one's family and friends) but also outside of spheres of kinship or friendship. His notion of sympathy thus is similar to the Stoic idea that we are citizens of the cosmos, and our moral obligations transcend beyond the individual with concerns for all humanity.

Hierocles suggested that you draw these ideas into your everyday life. His point was that, for the Stoic, every human being should be seen as another 'you' in the natural universe; A ticket on the same cosmic train together. This system requires personal responsibility but also demands that we engage with other people, whether they are friends or family members or total strangers or dire political enemies.

And this orientation toward sympathy and beneficence relates to the Stoic focus on virtue. Virtue, in Hierocles' mind, was not merely an idiopathic expression of character but a propagating energy that should be released to influence the behavior of others under Stoic control. Hence Hierocles Stoicism was not one of solitude, but one that relied on communal and ethical engagement with our fellow man.

Living by Nature: The Stoic Ideal from Hierocles to the Present

Like most of the Stoic philosophers, the main topic that Hierocles discussed was about how human beings should lead their lives by following nature. But his concept of what it means to live according to nature stresses the social aspect of human beings. In fact, it was the later Roman Stoics who placed particular emphasis on the fact that man is a social animal who tend to form communities precisely because they need one another.

For Hierocles, to live according to nature was simply to accept our place in the universe, realize that we are part of the greater whole (all people) and act accordingly by doing good for all. This perspective connected to the Stoic idea that the universe has logos, a rational structure; humans ought to align themselves with this order through virtue and ethical behavior.

Here, Hierocles was very much shaped by Stoic thinking: the requirement that one be rational and virtuous in all circumstances. That meant nurturing a spirit of goodwill, equity and compassion, especially for those outside your close circle. Here, the ethical system of Hierocles was a model for leading a virtuous life, socially oriented and cosmopolitan way of living.

The Effect of Hierocles on Later Thought

Most of Hierocles' writing has been lost to history but he can be regarded as an influential philosopher whose thoughts reach us through his successors. The linkage of ethical cosmopolitanism and the obligation to live according to nature, made apparent with Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius among others through later Stoics. Both philosophers had that same moral vision of human relations shared by Hierocles.

Hierocles — albeit indirectly — and, indeed, with Hierocles' ethical model resonating also with Christian philosophers such as Augustine of Hippo or Thomas Aquinas who drew up their own theologies with reference to other-regarding ethics especially in terms of universal love. Here, Hierocles' idea of circles and sympathy resonates with the Christian idea of neighbor love and global community.

While Hierocles did not attain the same notoriety as other Stoics, his emphasis on meaningful interaction with others is an important piece of the Stoic framework for moral philosophy.

The Stoic Imagination of an Ethical Community

Hierocles reminds us of our moral obligation to one another, which transcends beyond self or personal domain, extending all the way out to the fellow human community. Hierocles believed that his concent