Abstract

The Stoics are usually referred to be normativists in Ethics. This paper aims to demonstrate that the Stoic Ethics was not normative, although eventually it turned out to be at the origin of subsequent normative Ethics, by means of a complex historical evolution, based on two main ideas: First, the change from the appropriate actions (kathêkonta) to the common social roles (officia); second, the importance attributed to the strict Moral and self-control. The combination of these ideas contributed to provide the ethical and political framework for the best performance of social roles by citizens. Finally, it was up to the first Christian theologians to transform the accomplishment of social roles into a matter of obedience to a norm, set by a incontestable legal sovereign (i. e., God), in other words: the duties.