商品詳細

Stoic physics is an early physicalist philosophy which explains the world in terms of bodies and their interactions. This worldview is combined with a distinctive theology in which an omnipresent deity crafts the world. The details of early Stoics' views are handed down to us by second-hand ancient sources, including critics, doxographers, and later Stoics, and the second-hand nature of these reports sometimes obscures the original theory. By focusing on evidence that preserves the views of the early leaders-Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus-this book identifies the most important bodies in Stoic physics, including matter and substance, the four elements, pneuma, and the cosmos itself. It examines the metaphysical relationships between these bodies, and explains how the Stoics' god fits into their cosmology. The book aims to make the ancient Stoic worldview understandable to a contemporary audience, while developing and defending new interpretations of Stoicism that will advance the discussion among specialists.