Letters from a Stoic Chapters
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KEIMPE ALGRA 155-184.Qxd
Ο Ζήνων ο Κιτιέας και η Στωική κοσμολογία: μερικές σημειώσεις και δυο συγκεκριμένες περιπτώσεις. KEIMPE ALGRA Η έκταση και η φύση της συμβολής του Ζήνωνα στη Στωική φυσική και κοσμολογία είναι δύσκολο να θεμελιωθούν. Η ανακοίνωση αυτή μελετά μερικά από τα σχετικά προβλήματα. Η χρήση της ονομαστικής ετικέτας "Ζήνων" από τις αρχαίες μας πηγές δε θα πρέπει πάντα να αξιολογείται επιφανειακά, και η απόδοση καθώς και η διευθέτηση του υλικού του Hans Von Arnim στο Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta (SVF) δε θα πρέπει να γίνεται αποδεκτή χωρίς κριτική, για λόγους που περιγράφονται σ’ αυτή την εργασία. Παρέχονται δύο συγκεκριμένες περιπτώσεις αποσπασμάτων, οι οποίες, με μια πιο προσεκτική ματιά, δε θα πρέπει να αποδοθούν στο Ζήνωνα. Τελικά, υποστηρίζεται ότι ο Ζήνων δεν ήταν παραγωγικός συγγραφέας σε θέματα φυσικής, και ότι έτυχε στους διαδόχους του ( σε μερικούς από αυτούς) – πιο συγκεκριμένα στον Σφαίρο, στον Κλεάνθη και στον Χρύσιππο – να επεξεργαστούν περαιτέρω και να συγκροτήσουν λεπτομερειακά την φυσική κοσμοεικόνα της Στωικής σχολής. Αυτό σημαίνει πως υπάρχουν περιθώρια ανάπτυξης της φυσικής και της κοσμολογίας στα πλαίσια του αρχαίου Στωικισμού, και πως, συνακόλουθα, είναι ζωτικής σημασίας να διακρίνουμε πιο ξεκάθαρα, απ’ ότι συνήθως, τι πρέπει με ασφάλεια να αποδοθεί στο Ζήνωνα και ότι τέτοιου είδους "κοινά στωικά" δόγματα πρέπεί μόνο πιθανά, ή μερικά, να ανιχνευτούν σ΄αυτόν. Zeno of Citium and Stoic Cosmology: some notes and two case studies KEIMPE ALGRA 1 Zeno of Citium, as indeed the early Stoics in general, conceived of philosophy as consisting of three interrelated parts: logic, physics and ethics.1 But although Zeno’s foundational work covered all three areas, he appears to have had his preferences. -
The Little Book of Stoicism
The Little Book of Stoicism Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness Jonas Salzgeber Illustrations © 2019 Jonas Salzgeber. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 Jonas Salzgeber THE LITTLE BOOK OF STOICISM. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. First paperback published 2019. FIRST EDITION. ISBN: 978-1791967284 www.njlifehacks.com Contents Introduction 1 PART 1: WHAT IS STOICISM 9 Chapter 1: The Promise of Stoic Philosophy 11 Practice the Art of Living: Become a Warrior- Philosopher 12 Promise #1: Eudaimonia 14 Promise #2: Emotional Resilience 17 Tame Restricting Emotions (≠ Unemotional) 19 Practice Stoicism and Become more Tranquil as a By-Product 23 Chapter 2: A Quick History Lesson 26 The Most Important Stoic Philosophers 29 Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE) 30 Musonius Rufus (c. 30 CE – c. 100 CE) 32 Epictetus (c. 55 CE – c. 135 CE) 33 Marcus Aurelius (121 CE – 180 CE) 34 Chapter 3: The Stoic Happiness Triangle 36 The Stoic Happiness Triangle in A Nutshell 38 1. Live with Areté: Express Your Highest Self in Every Moment 40 The Perfection of Our Natural Potential 43 The Four Cardinal Virtues 47 Character Beats Beauty 51 The Stoic Love of Mankind: Act for the Common Welfare 53 2. Focus on What You Control: Accept Whatever Happens and Make the Best Out of It 56 The Stoic Archer: Focus on the Process 60 Stoic Acceptance: Enjoy the Ride or Get Dragged Along 63 The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent Things 67 In Poker as in Life, You Can Win with Any Hand 71 3. -
Language Logic and Reality: a Stoic Perspective (Spring 2013)
Language Logic and Reality: A Stoic Perspective Aaron Tuor History of Lingustics WWU Spring 2013 1 Language, Logic, and Reality: A Stoic perspective Contents 1 Introduction: The Tripartite Division of Stoic Philosophy.............................3 2 Stoic Physics...................................................................................................4 3 Stoic Dialectic.................................................................................................4 3.1 A Stoic Theory of Mind: Logos and presentations..........................4 3.2 Stoic Philosophy of Language: Lekta versus linguistic forms.........6 3.3 Stoic Logic.......................................................................................7 3.3.1 Simple and Complex Axiomata........................................7 3.3.2 Truth Conditions and Sentence Connectives....................8 3.3.3 Inference Schemata and Truths of Logic..........................9 3.4 Stoic Theory of Knowledge.............................................................10 3.4.1 Truth..................................................................................10 3.4.2 Knowledge........................................................................11 4 Conclusion: Analysis of an eristic argument..................................................12 4.1 Hermogenes as the Measure of "Man is the measure."...................13 Appendix I: Truth Tables and Inference Schemata...........................................17 Appendix II: Diagram of Communication.........................................................18 -
Stoic Enlightenments
Copyright © 2011 Margaret Felice Wald All rights reserved STOIC ENLIGHTENMENTS By MARGARET FELICE WALD A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in English written under the direction of Michael McKeon and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2011 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Stoic Enlightenments By MARGARET FELICE WALD Dissertation Director: Michael McKeon Stoic ideals infused seventeenth- and eighteenth-century thought, not only in the figure of the ascetic sage who grins and bears all, but also in a myriad of other constructions, shaping the way the period imagined ethical, political, linguistic, epistemological, and social reform. My dissertation examines the literary manifestation of Stoicism’s legacy, in particular regarding the institution and danger of autonomy, the foundation and limitation of virtue, the nature of the passions, the difference between good and evil, and the referentiality of language. Alongside the standard satirical responses to the ancient creed’s rigor and rationalism, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century poetry, drama, and prose developed Stoic formulations that made the most demanding of philosophical ideals tenable within the framework of common experience. Instead of serving as hallmarks for hypocrisy, the literary stoics I investigate uphold a brand of stoicism fit for the post-regicidal, post- Protestant Reformation, post-scientific revolutionary world. My project reveals how writers used Stoicism to determine the viability of philosophical precept and establish ways of compensating for human fallibility. The ambivalent status of the Stoic sage, staged and restaged in countless texts, exemplified the period’s anxiety about measuring up to its ideals, its efforts to discover the plenitude of ii natural laws and to live by them. -
A Stoic Renaissance
FROM ANTIQUITY TO AI: A STOIC RENAISSANCE Best-selling books. A following among some corporate heads. An ancient philosophy is making a comeback. But why? By Meghan Walsh says Hansson, who also authored the programming language Ruby on Rails, which powers web apps like Airbnb, Hulu, and Twitch. “Most businesses go out of business. When I can remove the fear that it’s all going to end, the calmer my life is.” It’s a practice ancient philosophers termed “negative visualization,” which Hansson learned after entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss recom- mended he read A Guide to the It was early November 2018, Good Life: The Ancient Art of and the Woolsey Fire hurtled through Stoic Joy by William B. the Santa Monica Mountains, devour- Irvine. Stoics also dabble ing hundreds of structures with stun- in self-imposed ning ferocity. As the fire drew closer austerity as The Problem and gusty winds changed direction a means of Different guiding principles can be confusing unpredictably, David Heinemeier honing oneself for managers and corporate chiefs. Hansson, known as DHH, imagined against the his Malibu Hills home going up in hardships of Why It Matters flames. It wasn’t a morbid hallucination. life. So when Leaders are more effective when their world Instead, the Danish programmer turned Hansson finds is in perspective. tech darling deliberately envisioned himself impa- with pixelated precision the flaky ash tient that his The Solution For some, looking centuries back can his home might become; he played out Uber is taking be helpful. the years of battling insurance adjusters five minutes that would inevitably follow. -
The Stoics and the Practical: a Roman Reply to Aristotle
DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences 8-2013 The Stoics and the practical: a Roman reply to Aristotle Robin Weiss DePaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd Recommended Citation Weiss, Robin, "The Stoics and the practical: a Roman reply to Aristotle" (2013). College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 143. https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/143 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE STOICS AND THE PRACTICAL: A ROMAN REPLY TO ARISTOTLE A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August, 2013 BY Robin Weiss Department of Philosophy College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences DePaul University Chicago, IL - TABLE OF CONTENTS - Introduction……………………..............................................................................................................p.i Chapter One: Practical Knowledge and its Others Technê and Natural Philosophy…………………………….....……..……………………………….....p. 1 Virtue and technical expertise conflated – subsequently distinguished in Plato – ethical knowledge contrasted with that of nature in -
James Bond the Life Worth Living by Rev
James Bond The Life Worth Living By Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof During the 1992 televised debate between Vice Presidential candidates Al Gore, Dan Quail, and billionaire populist Ross Perot’s choice for a running mate, James Stockdale, the latter introduced himself to the nation by uttering two questions; Who am I? Why am I here? They were the perfect questions to set the nation at ease with this unfamiliar, unvetted Washington outsider. Almost everyone had been wondering the same thing about Stockdale, who was he and why was he Perot’s pick? The live audience laughed and his self-deprecating humor, which also immediately endeared him to viewers all over the country. Unfortunately for Stockdale, and Ross Perot, his moment as a wise, funny, white-headed grandfatherly figure didn’t last long. As the evening transpired his inability to intelligibly answer questions just as quickly turned him into a national joke, including being portrayed on Saturday Night Live as a befuddled, senile, old man by comedian Phil Hartman. He became the Sarah Palin of his day. By the time the debate was over, perhaps the only people left whom Stockdale had permanently endeared himself to were the nation’s philosophers, whose minds were made up about him almost the moment he started speaking. He had us with, Who am I? Why am I here? Today, even those unfamiliar with philosophy understand these are quintessential philosophical questions—perennial questions dating back thousands of years. We can trace them back at least to Athens in the 4th century BCE, about 300 years after philosophy simultaneously began in Greece, China, and India. -
Seneca's Concept of a Supreme Being in His Philosophical Essays and Letters Robert James Koehn Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1947 Seneca's Concept of a Supreme Being in His Philosophical Essays and Letters Robert James Koehn Loyola University Chicago Recommended Citation Koehn, Robert James, "Seneca's Concept of a Supreme Being in His Philosophical Essays and Letters" (1947). Master's Theses. Paper 641. http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/641 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1947 Robert James Koehn SENECA'S CONCEPT OF A SUPRE.'ME BEING IN HIS PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS AND LETTERS BY ROBERT J. KOEHN, S.J. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF ~qE REQUIREMENTS FOR A MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN THE CLASSICS AUGUST 1947 VITA AUCTORIS Robert James Koehn was born in Toledo, Ohio, on September 2, 1917. After attending St. James parochial school, he entered st. John's High School in September 1931. Upon his graduation in 1935 he attended St. John's and DeSales Colleges before entering the So ciety of Jesus on September 1, 1937. He matriculated at Xavier University, Cincinnati, and received a Bachelor of Li terature degree in June 1941. Following his transfer to West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana, in the summer of 1941, he entered the graduate school of Loyola Uni versity, Chicago, in the Classics. -
Stoicism, Friendship, and Grief: a Response to Johnson
Reason Papers Vol. 40, no. 1 Stoicism, Friendship, and Grief: A Response to Johnson Massimo Pigliucci City College of New York Brian Johnson, in his commentary on my effort to update Stoicism,1 provides a cogent critique of ancient Stoicism and a reasonable suggestion for my attempt to define modern Stoicism. I do not (much) disagree with him in terms of his conclusions, which he applies to the specific cases of friendship and grief, but which also hold for all of the Stoic “preferred indifferents.” I do, however, want to push back on two points: (1) the path he takes to arrive at those conclusions, and (2) the notion that all ancient Stoics would have proposed the same approach to friendship and grief that Epictetus takes. To begin with, Johnson points out that, for the Stoics, only virtue is good (agathos), while everything else is either worthy (axia) of choice or to be rejected.2 Hence the famous Stoic distinction between virtue, on the one hand, and preferred and dispreferred “indifferents” (i.e., everything else), on the other hand. However jarring the word “indifferent” may sound to modern ears, we need to be clear about what it means on the Stoic view. Things like wealth, health, education, friendship, love, and so forth are indifferents in the specific sense that they do not make us morally better or worse persons. The Stoic project is, fundamentally, one of moral self- improvement. This can be seen, for instance, in Epictetus: “What decides whether a sum of money is good? The money is not going to tell you; it must be the faculty that makes use of such impressions— reason” (Discourses I, 1.5). -
THE PLACE of THEORY in the OLD STOA Masters of Philosophy Thesis
THE PLACE of THEORY in the OLD STOA Masters of Philosophy Thesis in Systematic Philosophy John E. Hull Sponsoring Senior Members Dr. Hendrik Hart Institute for Christian Studies May 22, 1975 Acknowledgments Completing a masters level program involves much more than writing a thesis. Now that the thesis has been born with the normal amount of labour, I am reminded how my pursuit of an academic training was conceived in turmoil; even gestation was plagued with doubts and frustrations as well as being fruitfully blessed. Thus, I am very grateful to those who have inspired and en couraged me in my work, especially John Vander Stelt and John Van Dyk at Dordt College, and Drs. Henk Hart and A1 Wolters at I.C.S. The latter were also helpful in offering advice for this particular paper. Dr. Wolters assistance in bibliographical and translation matters was particularly invaluable. I also wish to express my thanks to Lambert Zuidervaart and Jean Zinkand for their suggestions on composition and style. I owe a special debt of thanks to Dorothy Huisman for typing the manuscript. The factuality of this thesis was no less exist- entially dependent upon the support of my "at-home", Glenda, and the patient membership of the Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship. Without their respective contributions none of this would be. Abbreviations AFL Ancient Formal Logic, Bochenski AGP Archiv fur die Geschichte der Philosophie AGW Abend1andischen der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Gottingen AM Adversus Mathematicos, Sextus Empiricus ASPW Aristotle's System of the Physical World, Solman CHR Chrysippe, Biehier CN de Communibus notitiis, Plutarchus CQ Classical Quarterly DASN Die Alter?. -
Rational Impressions and the Stoic Philosophy of Mind Chapter 11, History of Philosophy of Mind: Pre-Socratics to Augustine, Ed
Rational Impressions and the Stoic Philosophy of Mind Chapter 11, History of Philosophy of Mind: Pre-Socratics to Augustine, ed. John Sisko Vol. 1 of six-volume series The History of the Philosophy of Mind, eds. Rebecca Copenhaver and Christopher Shields, Acumen Publishing (forthcoming) Vanessa de Harven, UMass Amherst Abstract: This paper seeks to elucidate the distinctive nature of the rational impression on its own terms, asking precisely what it means for the Stoics to define logikē phantasia as an impression whose content is expressible in language. I argue first that impression, generically, is direct and reflexive awareness of the world, the way animals get information about their surroundings. Then, that the rational impression, specifically, is inherently conceptual, inferential, and linguistic, i.e. thick with propositional content, the way humans receive incoming information from the world. When we suspend certain contemporary assumptions about propositional content, the textual evidence can be taken at face value to reveal why, for the Stoics, rational impressions are called thoughts (noēseis) and how the Stoics’ novel semantic entities called lekta (roughly, the meanings of our words) depend on rational impressions for their subsistence. At the heart of Stoic philosophy of mind is the rational impression (logikē phantasia). As it happens, the Stoics think that the mind resides in the heart, but this is not what makes the Stoic account interesting; seating the mind in the heart is a commonplace for the time. What sets the Stoics apart is their focus on mental phenomena of soul (psychē) over Aristotle’s physiological mechanisms, and on semantic content over Plato’s desiderative psychology — all of which begins with the rational impression. -
Combating Judicial Misconduct: a Stoic Approach
Buffalo Law Review Volume 67 Number 5 Article 1 12-1-2019 Combating Judicial Misconduct: A Stoic Approach Michael D. Cicchini Cicchini Law Office, CLL Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview Part of the Judges Commons, and the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons Recommended Citation Michael D. Cicchini, Combating Judicial Misconduct: A Stoic Approach, 67 Buff. L. Rev. 1259 (2019). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol67/iss5/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Buffalo Law Review VOLUME 67 DECEMBER 2019 NUMBER 5 Combating Judicial Misconduct: A Stoic Approach MICHAEL D. CICCHINI† I like and respect some judges, but not as many as I should. Too many are mean-spirited and arrogant, going out of their way to insult, ridicule, and demean those who come before them. —Abbe Smith, Law Professor and Clinic Director *** A vast variety of missiles are launched with us as their target. If you want a man to keep his head when the crisis comes you must give him some training before it comes. —Seneca, Stoic Philosopher and Imperial Advisor ABSTRACT Judicial ethics rules require criminal court judges to be competent, even-tempered, and impartial. In reality, however, many judges are grossly ignorant of the law, incredibly hostile toward the defense, and outright biased in favor of the state.