Towards a Stoic Methodology

Recently, my daughter interviewed me as part of a university project. In it we discussed Stoicism in some detail. She asked me to define Stoicism, and after some round about discussion, I finally came down to this. Stoicism is a Methodology, a WAY to live, not necessarily a set of rules for living. It is all based on 'living according to nature'. First, we must understand what nature is, what OUR nature is, what ALL nature is, then live to the best of our ability according to that knowledge. Stoicism is, in effect, a rational life style that is an extension of scientific discovery. It is life, lived in the best way that we can, in the most rational way we are capable of.