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Adiaphorism


Adiaphoron (plural: adiaphora from the Greek ἀδιάφορα, the negation of διάφορα - Latin differentia - meaning "not differentiable").

In Cynicism "adiaphora" represents indifference to the vicissitudes of life.

In Pyrrhonism, "adiaphora" indicates things which cannot be logically differentiated. Unlike in Stoicism, the term has no specific connection to morality.

In Stoicism "adiaphora" indicates actions that morality neither mandates nor forbids. In the context of Stoicism "adiaphora" is usually translated as "indifferents."

In Christianity, "adiaphora" are matters not regarded as essential to faith, but nevertheless as permissible for Christians or allowed in church. What is specifically considered adiaphora depends on the specific theology in view.

The Cynics cultivate adiaphora, by which they meant indifference to the vicissitudes of life, through ascetic practices which help one become free from influences – such as wealth, fame, and power – that have no value in Nature. Examples include Diogenes' practice of living in a tub and walking barefoot in winter.

Pyrrho claimed that all pragmata (matters, affairs, questions, topics) are adiaphora (not differentiable, not clearly definable, negating Aristotle's use of "diaphora"), astathmēta (unstable, unbalanced, unmeasurable), and anepikrita (unjudgeable, undecidable). Therefore, neither our senses nor our beliefs and theories are able to identify truth or falsehood.

The Stoics distinguish all the objects of human pursuit into three classes: good, bad, and adiaphora (indifferent). Virtue, wisdom, justice, temperance, and the like, are denominated good; their opposites were bad. Besides these there are many other objects of pursuit such as wealth, fame, etc. of themselves neither good nor bad. These are thought therefore in ethics to occupy neutral territory, and are denominated "adiaphora". This distinction amounts practically to an exclusion of the adiaphora from the field of morals.


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