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Concept

Oikeiōsis

Οἰκείωσις

Stoicethicsnature

The Stoic principle of natural affinity — the self’s widening circle of care.

Oikeiōsis (“appropriation” or “endearment”) is the cornerstone of Stoic ethics: the natural impulse by which every creature is, from birth, made akin to itself and seeks its own preservation.

In human beings this affinity widens with reason — from oneself outward to family, community, and at last all humankind — grounding both self-care and justice in a single movement of nature.

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