Chrysippus of Soli | |
|---|---|
 Roman copy of a Hellenistic bust of Chrysippus (British Museum) | |
| Born | c. 279 BCE |
| Died | c. 206 BC (aged 73) |
| Cause of death | Death from laughter (uncertain) |
| Era | Hellenistic philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Stoicism |
Main interests | |
Notable ideas |
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Chrysippus of Soli (/kraɪˈsɪpəs, krɪ-/;[1] ‹See Tfd›Greek: Χρύσιππος ὁ Σολεύς, Chrousippos ho Soleus; c. 279 – c. 206 BC[a]) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes. When Cleanthes died, around 230 BC, Chrysippus became the third head of the Stoic school. A prolific writer, Chrysippus expanded the fundamental doctrines of Cleanthes' mentor Zeno of Citium, the founder and first head of the school, which earned him the title of the Second Founder of Stoicism.[3]
Chrysippus excelled in logic, the theory of knowledge, ethics, and physics. He created an original system of propositional logic in order to better understand the workings of the universe and role of humanity within it. He adhered to a fatalistic view of fate, but nevertheless sought a role for personal agency in thought and action. Ethics, he thought, depended on understanding the nature of the universe, and he taught a therapy of extirpating the unruly passions which depress and crush the soul. He initiated the success of Stoicism as one of the most influential philosophical movements for centuries in the Greek and Roman world. The linguistic orientation of Chrysippus' work made it difficult for its students even within the Stoic school.[4]
Of his several written works, none have survived except as fragments.[b] Recently, segments of some of his works were discovered among the Herculaneum papyri.[c]
- ^ "Chrysippus". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ Cf. Dorandi 1999, p. 40
- ^ Dorandi 1999, p. 40
- ^ Luhtala 2000, p. 194
- ^ Rist 1969, p. vii
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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