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Colloquium 1

Colloquium 1 The Stoics say that there are many virtues, although each virtue entails all the others; sometimes they give lists of what these virtues are, or rather of the generic virtues that include all specific virtuous disposi- tions. Sometimes they give the conventional list, "prudence, temper- ance, courage, justice" (Stobaeus II, 60 Wachsmuth-Hense); but two sources (Diogenes Laertius VII, 92 and the prologue to the pseudo- Plutarchan Placita) say the Stoics think there are three virtues, logic, physics, and ethics; and Cicero De Finibus III, 72-3 confirms that the Stoics list dialectic and physics as virtues, alongside the familiar moral virtues. It seems strange to us to count physics as a virtue. The Stoics, like the Platonic Socrates, thought that virtues were arts or sciences;l 1 this may seem strange already, but we can understand it by saying that whoever knows the good will desire it and choose it, so that knowledge of the good will be a virtue and will motivate action. This may explain why some knowledge is a virtue, but it will not explain why physics is a virtue, since physics is not a knowledge of the good (and no ancient philosopher said it was). Nor http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy Online Brill

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 1997 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1059-986X
eISSN
2213-4417
DOI
10.1163/2213441795X00039
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The Stoics say that there are many virtues, although each virtue entails all the others; sometimes they give lists of what these virtues are, or rather of the generic virtues that include all specific virtuous disposi- tions. Sometimes they give the conventional list, "prudence, temper- ance, courage, justice" (Stobaeus II, 60 Wachsmuth-Hense); but two sources (Diogenes Laertius VII, 92 and the prologue to the pseudo- Plutarchan Placita) say the Stoics think there are three virtues, logic, physics, and ethics; and Cicero De Finibus III, 72-3 confirms that the Stoics list dialectic and physics as virtues, alongside the familiar moral virtues. It seems strange to us to count physics as a virtue. The Stoics, like the Platonic Socrates, thought that virtues were arts or sciences;l 1 this may seem strange already, but we can understand it by saying that whoever knows the good will desire it and choose it, so that knowledge of the good will be a virtue and will motivate action. This may explain why some knowledge is a virtue, but it will not explain why physics is a virtue, since physics is not a knowledge of the good (and no ancient philosopher said it was). Nor

Journal

Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy OnlineBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1995

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