DOCSLIB.ORG

A Preliminary Study of Stoic Philosophy As Psychotherapy

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Preliminary Study of Stoic Philosophy As Psychotherapy A Preliminary Study of Stoic Philosophy as Psychotherapy Don Woollen Jr. I. Introduction pervasive types of human suffering. They practiced philosophy not as a detached intellectual technique dedicated to the display of cleverness but as an This paper will consider the thesis that there is within immersed and worldly art of grappling with human Stoic philosophy a distinct and interesting theory of misery. (Nussbaum, 1996, p. 3) human psychology, which entails not only a normative account of human growth and development but also a Finding out how human beings are diseased and corresponding theory of psychopathology based on what they need is a prelude to, and is inseparable that account. The theory also encompasses a system of from, trying to heal them and to give them what they therapeutic techniques formulated to expose and need. The connection is this close, first of all, because correct these pathologies. In sum, there exists what can the conception of the philosopher's task as a medical only be described as a unique and well-formulated one makes compassion and love of humanity central features of it. Having understood how human lives system of Stoic Psychotherapy. 1 In fact, I would assert are diseased, a philosopher worthy of the name like that Stoicism does not just contain a theory of a doctor worthy of that name will proceed to try to psychotherapy as part of its larger philosophical cure them. The whole point of medical research is theory, but that Stoicism itself is more accurately cure. So, too, the whole point of philosophy is human conceptualised as primarily a psychotherapy, albeit, flourishing . The medical analogy expresses this basic with an extensive philosophical underpinning. commitment. (Emphasis added) (Nussbaum, 1996, However, as this is not the major topic I wish to pp. .33-34) address, this position will go largely undefended save for the following material from Martha Nussbaum's Nussbaum's entire book is an exploration of Hellenistic book, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in philosophy as a therapeutic endeavour and an Hellenistic Ethics (1996). extended defence of that position. She brings out an abundance of additional material in support of this It is not true that there exists an art called medicine, thesis that cannot be included here. Suffice it to say that concerned with the diseased body, but no what has been presented makes clear that the Stoics corresponding art concerned with the diseased soul. placed a high priority on their ethical theory and its Nor is it true that the latter is inferior to the former, in application to practical living both as an individual, its theoretical grasp and therapeutic treatment of personal endeavour, and in a broader didactic context. individual cases (Galen PHP 5.2.22, 298D=SVF III.471). (Nussbaum, 1996, p. 14) II. Outlining the System They [the Hellenistic philosophical schools and the Stoics in particular] saw the philosopher as a Even if it is granted that within Stoic philosophy there compassionate physician whose arts could heal many are numerous techniques designed to aid one in the art of living, a collection of therapeutic techniques alone does not constitute a system of psychotherapy, Stoic or 1 Psychotherapy can be broadly defined as the application of otherwise. Aaron Beck, in his book, Cognitive Therapy various psychological (as opposed to medical or neurological) techniques directed towards improving or eliminating and the Emotional Disorders (1976), suggests that one of maladaptive emotions and behaviours. It will become evident, the characteristics of a system of psychotherapy, as in what follows, that this is not an adequate description of distinct from simply a collection of techniques, is that Stoic therapy. Likewise, what constitutes psychopathology its therapeutic approach be derived from, and related (the study of mental and emotional disorders from the directly to, a comprehensive theory of psychological perspective) in the Stoic system is considerably psychopathology. Although not explicitly stated by more inclusive than in other therapies. I will be using the Beck, it can be inferred that the theory of pathology terms therapy and psychotherapy interchangeably, as well as also includes a normative account of human pathology and psychopathology. development. It is obvious that without the standard http://www.practical-philosophy.org.uk 31 Practical Philosophy Autumn 2003 for healthy behaviour, which such a theory would The process of oikeiosis can be viewed from two provide, there can be no determination of what different but complementary perspectives. In Diogenes constitutes pathological behaviour. Laertius VII 85-89 , that which nature has provided for the individual is emphasized, while in De finibus III.20- Beck (1976) also suggests that a well-developed system 21, Cicero brings out how the individual is to respond of therapy should possess a detailed description of, in terms of nature’s provision. and guide to, therapeutic techniques related to this model (i.e., the theory’s model of psychopathology). To Diogenes Laertius VII this I would add that any comprehensive system of therapy should include a specific therapeutic 85. They say that an animal’s first [or primary] paradigm or model such as Ellis' s (1977) ABC Theory impulse is to preserve itself, because nature made it of Emotion or Bandura’s (1986) Social Learning Theory congenial [ oikeios ] to itself from the beginning, as in addition to a broad theory of behaviour change. I Chrysippus says in book one of On Goals , stating that for every animal its first [sense of] congeniality is to its believe it can be convincingly demonstrated that Stoic own constitution and the reflective awareness of this philosophy possesses more than ample resources for … For in this way [because nature has made the constructing a uniquely efficacious psychotherapy animal congenial to itself] it repels injurious influences based on the above criteria. The following material will and pursues that which is congenial to it. present, in outline form, one attempt to do so. 86. … When in the case of animals, impulse is added A. Normative Psychology (which they use in pursuit of things to which they have an affinity), then for them what is natural is The theory of oikeiosis provides the Stoic account of governed by what is according to impulse. When reason has been given to rational animals as a more normative human growth and development. It perfect governor [of life], then for them the life includes the motivational theory behind goal-directed according to reason properly becomes what is natural behaviour and specifies what constitutes appropriate for them. For reason supervenes on impulse as a (i.e., normal in a developmental sense) activity for man craftsman. (Inwood/Gerson, 1997, p. 191) as a rational creature throughout each stage of the maturation process. Rational agents are constituted in such a way that they have an affinity to pursue those things that will The term itself has no adequate English translation. promote self-preservation and avoid those things that Sandbach renders it as ‘belonging’ or ‘affinity’ and hinder it. Originally this process of selection/rejection is notes that ‘ Oikeion is the opposite of allotrion , what is essentially reflexive or instinctual, but with the alien; it is therefore that which ‘belongs to you’, so that introduction of reason, if all goes well, a dramatic you and it go together. Oikeiosis is then the process of change occurs. Instinctual selection/rejection is making a thing belong, and this is achieved by the replaced by rational selection/rejection; reason acting as recognition that the thing is oikeion , that it does belong a ‘craftsman’ to shape the choices made. As Engberg- to you, that it is yours.’ (Sandbach, 1989, p. 32). Pederson puts it, ‘with the arrival of reason there is a Pembroke, who goes so far as to state that ‘if there had shift of allegiance from a subjective concern about been no oikeiosis , there would have been no Stoa’ particular objects to an objective concern for being right emphasizes the importance of the concept in the Stoic about the value of such objects (Engberg-Pederson, scheme (Long, 1996, p. 114). 1990, p. 101). Oikeiosis is a verbal noun, and the verb’s immediate De finibus III neighbour is the adjective oikeios , itself derived from the Greek word for ‘house’ and applied both to persons 20. … the first appropriate action (for that is what I who were members of the household or had a blood- call kathekon) is that it [i.e. the agent] should preserve relationship to its members, and to those connected itself in its natural constitution; and then that it should retain what is according to nature and reject what is with it either by marriage or less formally by virtually contrary to nature. After this [pattern of] selection any kind of favourable association. In the household and rejection is discovered, there then follows sphere, oikeios denoted property and so came by appropriate selection, and then constant [appropriate] simple extension to cover anything belonging to a selection, and finally [selection] which is stable and in person in other senses than the strictly economic one agreement with nature; and here for the first time we (Long, 1996, p.115). begin to have and to understand something which 32 http://www.practical-philosophy.org.uk A Preliminary Study of Stoic Philosophy as Psychotherapy Don Woollen Jr. can truly be called good. (Inwood/Gerson, 1997, p. specifically, the human nature … And virtue is a 237) disposition in agreement. And it is worth choosing for its own sake … And happiness lies in virtue, Returning to the passage in Diogenes VII we can see insofar as virtue is the soul [so] made [as to produce] how this process (i.e.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Geschichte Der Philosophie Band I: Altertum Und Mittelalter
    Johannes Hirschberger Geschichte der Philosophie Band I: Altertum und Mittelalter Vorwort zur 1. Auflage Was den Verfasser veranlaßte, die vorliegende Phi- losophiegeschichte zu schreiben, war der oft ausge- sprochene Wunsch seiner Hörer nach einem Buch, das nicht zu umfangreich, um bewältigt werden zu können, doch auch wieder nicht zu klein wäre, um noch als Handreichung für das Studium der Geschich- te der Philosophie und insbesondere als Hilfsbuch für akademische Vorlesungen dienen zu können. Das war der äußere Anlaß. Der innere war gegeben mit der Er- kenntnis, daß für die Philosophiegeschichte etwas getan werden müsse. Auf diesem Gebiet sind seit eini- ger Zeit die Dinge etwas aus den Fugen geraten. Die Situation ist da heute so, daß philosophiegeschichtli- che Themen in einer Weise behandelt werden, die ent- weder viel Literargeschichte und wenig Philosophie oder viel Philosophie und wenig Geschichte bietet. Beide Methoden haben ihre Verdienste, aber beide sind einseitig. Darum wurde hier der Versuch unter- nommen, das Werden des philosophischen Gedankens in historischer Treue sichtbar werden zu lassen um dieses philosophischen Gedankens selbst willen. Diese Philosophiegeschichte möchte nicht bloß refe- rieren, sondern philosophieren, doch nicht so, daß Phantasien über ein Thema vorgetragen werden, sondern so, daß Rankes Forderung an die historische Wissenschaft auch hier erfüllt wird: zu zeigen, was war und wie es war. Die gesamte Philosophiegeschichte des Abendlan- des auf beschränktem Raum zu entwickeln bereitet keine geringen Schwierigkeiten. Das größere Kopf- zerbrechen macht eigentlich nicht, was man schrei- ben, sondern was man auslassen muß. Ich verstehe es, wenn man bald dies, bald das vermissen wird. Ich vermisse selber vieles. Für positive Kritik bin ich darum dankbar, nur möchte ich wünschen, daß mir nicht bloß wieder in Erinnerung gerufen wird, was ich ohnehin mit Selbstüberwindung habe verabschieden müssen.
    [Show full text]
  • Desire and Impulse in Epictetus and the Older Stoics1
    Desire and impulse in Epictetus and the Older Stoics1 1. Introduction This paper challenges a supposition that has guided several recent, agenda-setting interpretations of Stoic moral psychology. It is that Epictetus uses the terms orexis and hormê in a way that differs widely from their use by the older Stoics. A preliminary aim of the paper is to explain how this assumption came about and show that it is mistaken. The main aim is to show that, once this assumption is abandoned, some of the central elements of Stoic moral psychology can be seen to fit together in a way that has not yet been appreciated, and which provides a more coherent and plausible account of motivation than the currently standard interpretation ascribes to the Stoics. I will argue that for the Stoics intentional action is in each instance the product of two kinds of cognition: a value ascription that attributes goodness or badness to some object, conceiving of its possession as beneficial or harmful to the agent, and a judgment that a specific action is appropriate in view of this value ascription. Orexis is the Stoic term for the value ascriptions and dispositional beliefs about goodness that supply the motivational backing for specific actions. Hormê—in one of its senses—is the Stoic term for the narrowly motivating judgment about what is appropriate in light of these beliefs. A hormê, we might say, is orexis issuing in action. The same applies, mutatis mutandis, to ekklisis and aphormê.2 1 For discussion of this paper and related material, I am grateful to audiences at Cornell University, Northwestern University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Oxford University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of St Andrews, the University of Toronto, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory and Training in Epictetus' Program of Moral Education
    THEORY AND TRAINING IN EPICTETUS’ PROGRAM OF MORAL EDUCATION by Michael Tremblay A thesis submitted to the Department of Philosophy In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (May, 2021) Copyright ©Michael Tremblay, 2021 Abstract This dissertation examines the educational function of training, as contrasted with the study of theory, within Epictetus’ program of moral education. The motivation for this research is that there exists an apparent tension in Epictetus’ moral philosophy. According to Stoicism, knowledge is sufficient for virtue; however, many students of Stoicism have learnt that virtue is the only good, and endorsed this claim as true, and yet fail to act appropriately. Epictetus seems to resolve this problem through the introduction of applied exercises. That Epictetus requires his students to train themselves in this way seems in potential conflict with his moral psychology. In this dissertation, I resolve this tension through three contributions: (1) First, I develop an account of why Epictetus believes moral failure occurs in dedicated students of Stoicism who wish to achieve virtue. It occurs primarily because of two factors, precipitancy and weakness, which impede the progressing student of Stoicism from properly reflecting upon a situation. (2) Second, I argue for a novel explanation of the function of training in Epictetus. Epictetus tells us that training is necessary to ‘digest’ our theory. Building upon this neglected metaphor, I argue that the ‘digestion’ of theory is the process by which students move from weak commitments to general principles (i.e., virtue is the only good), which are vulnerable to instances of precipitancy or weakness, to specific actionable beliefs (i.e., I should not desire this bribe because is not an instance of virtue).
    [Show full text]
  • Stoic Ethics RICHARD BETT
    richard bett 27 Stoic Ethics RICHARD BETT Introduction The proper interpretation of the role of nature is among the most central, difficult, and debated topics in the study of Stoic ethics. Our sources make clear that, at several points in the exposition of their ethical system, the Stoics make an appeal to nature. We are told of numerous different Stoic formulations of the end or goal of life (the telos); most of them refer to some form of attunement to, or connectedness with, nature as the ideal to be strived for. Again, the Stoics have a complicated story to tell about human development – a development that might optimally result in the attain- ment of this ideal – in which the types of impulses given to us by nature figure promin- ently. And even for those who fall short of the ideal (which the Stoics were inclined to think included almost everyone who has ever lived), it is, they believe, possible to achieve a measure of what they call “value” (axia) by means of the judicious selection of a variety of items labeled “things according to nature” (ta kata phusin). The concept of nature, then, will play a central role in the present survey. I focus first on the Stoics’ conception of the ethical ideal, and of the character of the person who attains it. This is followed by an account of their picture of the optimal course of human development. The final main section is devoted to the condition, as the Stoics see it, of those of us who fail to achieve the ideal, and the ways in which we differ from those who do achieve it.1 Stoic philosophy, including Stoic ethics, underwent various developments over the several centuries in which it flourished.
    [Show full text]
  • Through Humility the Path to Godliness Ascends on High”: St
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA “Through Humility The Path to Godliness Ascends on High”: St. Augustine’s Challenge to Modern Thought on Humility and Greatness A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Joseph John McInerney Washington, D.C. 2012 “Through Humility the Path to Godliness Ascends on High”: St. Augustine’s Challenge to Modern thought on Humility and Greatness Joseph John McInerney, Ph.D. Director: Joseph E. Capizzi, Ph.D. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11). Few thinkers in the Christian tradition place greater emphasis on this Gospel principle than Augustine of Hippo. Augustine asserts that humility is the key to one’s salvation and is the foundation of a person’s greatness. Humility plays no such role, however, in the thought of classical or modern philosophers. The moral theories of Aristotle, Plotinus, Hume, and Nietzsche espouse little relation between humility and moral excellence or propose a view of that relationship in which humility is opposed to greatness. The purpose of this study is to detail the moral principles various thinkers use to approach the ideas of humility and greatness, thus demonstrating the manner in which each author comes to a particular conclusion regarding the relationship between the two principles. The focus of the study will be upon Augustine’s conception of humility and greatness, as his understanding is unique in the positive value it attributes to humility in its relation to human excellence.
    [Show full text]
  • Hugo Grotius' Modern Civil Religion: Source of Europe's Stoic Liberalism?
    Digital Commons @ Assumption University Political Science Department Faculty Works Political Science Department 2017 Hugo Grotius' Modern Civil Religion: Source of Europe's Stoic Liberalism? Jeremy Seth Geddert Assumption College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.assumption.edu/political-science-faculty Part of the Philosophy Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Geddert, Jeremy Seth. "Hugo Grotius' Modern Civil Religion: Source of Europe's Stoic Liberalism?" Classical Rationalism and the Politics of Europe. Edited by Ann Ward. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017. Pages 126-150. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science Department at Digital Commons @ Assumption University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Department Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Assumption University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHAPTER EIGHT HUGO GROTIUS' MODERN CIVIL RELIGION: SOURCE OF EUROPE'S STOIC LIBERALISM? JEREMY SETH GEDDERT Classical Europe is often credited with originating political life. Five hundred years before Christ, Ancient Greece and Rome initiated the notion that citizens could govern themselves. Cleisthenes and Brutus fought for regimes in which no person would hold royal status or stand above the law. The Acropolis and the Forum remain among the world's most iconic sites: they draw tourists, inspire political reformers, and lend their names to modern arenas. These two classical examples are commended to schoolchildren as the birthplace of today's cherished liberties. If classical Europe inaugurated political life, modern Europe bequeathed us its current form. The 1648 Peace of Westphalia not only concluded the Thirty Years' War, but is also said to have birthed the modern nation-state system.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stoics: a Guide for the Perplexed Continuum Guides for the Perplexed
    THE STOICS: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED CONTINUUM GUIDES FOR THE PERPLEXED Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and acces- sible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifi- cally on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Guides for the Perplexed available from Continuum: Adorno: A Guide for the Perplexed, Alex Thomson Deleuze: A Guide for the Perplexed, Claire Colebrook Derrida: A Guide for the Perplexed, Julian Wolfreys Descartes: A Guide for the Perplexed, Justin Skirry Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen Earnshaw Freud: A Guide for the Perplexed, Celine Surprenant Gadamer: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chris Lawn Habermas: A Guide for the Perplexed, Eduardo Mendieta Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed, David James Hobbes: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen J. Finn Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed, Angela M. Coventry Husserl: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matheson Russell Kant: A Guide for the Perplexed, T. K. Seung Kierkegaard: A Guide for the Perplexed, Clare Carlisle Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed, Franklin Perkins Levinas: A Guide for the Perplexed, B. C. Hutchens Merleau-Ponty: A Guide for the Perplexed, Eric Matthews Nietzsche: A Guide for the Perplexed, R. Kevin Hill Plato: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gerald A. Press Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Kemp Ricoeur: A Guide for the Perplexed, David Pellauer Rousseau: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matthew Simpson Sartre: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Cox Spinoza: A Guide for the Perplexed, Charles Jarrett Wittgenstein: A Guide for the Perplexed, Mark Addis THE STOICS: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED M.
    [Show full text]
  • Reservation in Stoic Ethics1
    Reservation in Stoic Ethics1 by Tad Brennan (New Haven) Sometimes, Stoic philosophers enjoin us to use something called "reser- vation" (hupexairesis, exceptid) with our impulses. In this article I at- tempt to build on some recent work by other critics in order to advance our understanding of reservation. Reservation plays a large role in several recent discussions of Stoic ethics. In Brad Inwood's excellent and indispensable book,2 he makes reservation absolutely central to Stoic psychology, and he has been followed in this by Long and Sedley, and by Nussbaum.3 Inwood's book shed a flood of light on many areas in Stoic ethics because of his attention to the detailed psychology of action that the Stoics developed. However, on the topic of impulse with reservation, he left some of the details indeterminate, and it is here that I want to see if improvements can be made. I develop my case by first elaborating, and then rejecting, a view that is largely based on Inwood's account, but is more determi- nate than his position; because it is not identical to his position, and because specific criticisms of Inwood are not the purpose of this article, I refer to it as "the standard view".4 The first part of this article, then, will be taken up with laying out the standard view of reservation. The second part will involve showing 1 This article began as one session of a seminar that Richard Sorabji and I led at the Institute of Classical Studies in 1996. I am grateful to all of the seminar's participants, but particularly to Richard, Bob Sharpies, and Anthony Price, for their questions and encouragement.
    [Show full text]
  • An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, Science and Textual Engagement in Proclus' in Rem
    An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, science and textual engagement in Proclus' In Rem. by David Blair Pass A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Anthony Long, Chair Professor G.R.F. Ferrari, Chair Professor Leslie Kurke Professor Kinch Hoekstra Spring 2013 Abstract An Athenian Commentary on Plato's Republic: Poetry, science and textual engagement in Proclus' In Rem. by David Blair Pass Doctor of Philosophy in Classics University of California, Berkeley Professor Anthony Long, Chair Professor G.R.F. Ferrari, Chair Proclus’ Commentary on Plato’s Republic is the only extant ancient Greek commentary on Plato’s Republic. Despite the fact that it includes discussions of most of the major parts of the book, it has received very little scholarly attention. This dissertation introduces the work in its entirety and tries to identify some of the most important contributions it can make to philosophical and philological scholarship on the Republic. I am particularly attentive to ways in which Proclus’ concerns—such as responding to Epicurean critiques of Platonic myth or defending Homer—may help us see Plato’s work in its cultural context. The first chapter focuses on introducing the work and answering basic questions about the place of the Republic in late antique Platonism, the extent of Proclus’ sources and what portions of the Republic Proclus discusses. I consider the form of the commentary, arranged as various essays, in comparison with Proclus’ other commentaries which proceed in a line by line manner.
    [Show full text]
  • Zeno of Citium
    Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, was born in Citium, a small Phoenician-Greek city on Cyprus, about 336 B.C. (the year Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia) and died in Athens about 265 B.C. These dates are a matter of dispute. At the age of 22, he went to Athens, poverty- stricken (some say) as a result of a shipwreck off the Piraeus. Zeno was a Phoenician, but he knew Greek before the shipwreck (if it occurred), and his merchant father had possibly supplied him with writings about Socrates long before Zeno came to Athens. In 300 he started his school, first called the Zenonians, and later called the Stoics because he gave his lectures on the Painted Porch (Stoa Poikile) in the marketplace of Athens. The porch was so called because it was where the paintings of Polygnotus were. Epicurus had come to Athens in about 306, celebrating pleasure as the highest good and randomness as the basic condition of the physical universe. Some say that Zeno, in reaction to Epicurus, set up a school defending virtue as the only good and the law of nature or the logos as the dominating force in the universe. Personally, he had none of Epicurus’ attractive gentleness; he was dark, had a slightly twisted neck, and was severe or even harsh in manner. He ate raw food, drank mostly water, wore a thin cloak, and was apparently oblivious to rain, heat, or painful illness. Three of the many stories Diogenes Laërtius tells strikingly illustrate his philosophy (of which we have only a few fragments).
    [Show full text]
  • Diogenes Laertius Leben Und Meinungen Berühmter Philosophen
    DIOGENES LAERTIUS LEBEN UND MEINUNGEN BERÜHMTER PHILOSOPHEN ÜBERSETZT UND ERLÄUTERT VON OTTO APELT ZWEITER BAND BUCH VII—X DER PHILOSOPHISCHEN BIBLIOTHEK BAND 54 LEIPZIG 1921 / VERLAG VON, FELIX MEINER / Ι β ύ η ΐ ζ Druck von Fanl DBnnhanpt, Cöthen I. Anh. ^ u - c y V h tt% , ^ 7 5 i£ ^ té Inhaltsverzeichnis. Sei to SiebentesBuch.................................................... 1— 94 Zenon Kapitel I ....................... 1— 18 Stoische Dogmen ........................ 18— 68 Ariston „ I I ........................68— 70 Herillos I I I ........................70— 71 Dionysios „ I V ........................71— 72 Kleanthes * V ........................72— 76 Sphairos V I ........................77 Chrysippos V I I ........................77— 94 AchtesBuch.............................................................95—134 Pythagoras Kapitel I ........................95—116 Empedokles „ I I ........................116—126 Epicharmos „ I I I ........................127 Archytas „ I V ........................127—129 Alkmaion „ V ........................129—130 Hippasos „ V I ........................130 Philolaos V I I ........................130—131 Eudoxos „ V III........................131—134 Neuntes B u c h ........................................................ 135—188 Heraklit Kapitel I ........................135—142 Xenophanes „ II ........................142—144 Parmenides „ I I I ........................144—145 Melissos „ I V ........................146 Zenon .. V ........................146—148 Leukippos „ V I ........................148—150
    [Show full text]
  • The Stoics and the Academics on the Apprehensive Impression
    THE STOICS AND THE ACADEMICS ON THE APPREHENSIVE IMPRESSION by Pavle Stojanovic A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland September 2015 © 2015 Pavle Stojanovic All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The debate between the Stoics and the Academics on the apprehensive impression (phantasia katalēptikē) was one of the longest in the history of epistemology, and is also one of the most discussed in contemporary scholarship on the philosophy of the Hellenistic period. The debate was initiated when Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school, introduced the idea that there is a special kind of impression, the apprehensive impression, which is caused by an external object and which reliably captures the truth about that object, allowing us to attain knowledge about that object. Zeno’s idea was met with criticism by Plato’s successors in the Academy, most notably Arcesilaus and Carneades, who argued that such impressions do not exist because they are indistinguishable from non- apprehensive impressions. However, the details of the Stoic account of the apprehensive impression and its role in their epistemology, as well as the nature of the strategy the Academics employed against it have been highly controversial in modern scholarship. In the dissertation, I provide a careful analysis of the extant textual sources on the Stoic and the Academic positions in the debate, which yields several important results. First, it leads to a novel interpretation of the Stoic definition of the apprehensive impression that better explains its distinctness from the non-apprehensive impressions. Unlike other scholars, I argue that according to the Stoics its distinctness consists in the fact that the apprehensive impression differs in terms of its representational content from all non-apprehensive impressions the subject is aware of, but that this representational difference is defeasible.
    [Show full text]