{"id":12326,"date":"2020-02-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/?p=12326"},"modified":"2020-02-22T10:20:24","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T14:20:24","slug":"studying-philosophy-in-athens-the-case-of-zeno-by-christina-kourfali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/studying-philosophy-in-athens-the-case-of-zeno-by-christina-kourfali\/","title":{"rendered":"Studying Philosophy in Athens: the Case of Zeno by Christina Kourfali"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each year, the Modern Stoicism organization organizes the main Stoicon conference, and helps to promote local Stoicon-X events. Over the last several years, we have developed a tradition here at Stoicism Today of publishing as many of the talks and workshops from Stoicon and Stoicon-Xs as blog posts, in order to allow our readership who were unable to attend these conferences the benefit of those speakers\u2019 expertise. We continue this year\u2019s sequence of posts with a summary of Prof. Christina Kourfali’s Stoicon talk which follows below (a longer version of it may be found here<\/a>) \u2013 Greg Sadler, editor, Stoicism Today<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Zeno was already 22 years old when he came to Athens and we must wonder what his general level of knowledge was, what instruction he had received that led him to pursue higher philosophical education in this city. We can certainly accept what Laertius mentions: \u201cHis father, Mnaseas, being a merchant often went to Athens and brought away many books about Socrates for Zeno, while he was still a boy. Hence he had been well trained even before he left his native place\u201d (D.L. 7.2.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeno and Cynics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Picture him,\nthen, as a cultured young man, in 312 BC sitting in a corner of the ancient\nagora at a bookshop \u201con reading the second book of Xenophon’s Memorabilia<\/em>. He was so pleased that he\ninquired where men like Socrates were to be found. Crates passed by in the nick\nof time, so the bookseller pointed to him and said, “Follow yonder\nman.” From that day, he became Crates\u2019 pupil\u201d (D.L. 7.2-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no doubt\nthat Crates was a master of Zeno because the latter has written the book Recollections of Crates<\/em>. However, \u201clater\nStoics may have exaggerated Zeno\u2019s connection with Crates, through whom they traced\ntheir spiritual ancestry to Diogenes of Sinope, Antisthenes, and finally\nSocrates himself\u201d (Hahm D. (1977), p. 220). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, Zeno\nseems to have been taught by the Cynics: 1. The rejection of the encyclic\nlessons, for they do not consider the acquisition of knowledge an end, but the\nachievement of personal virtue. 2. The principle that “Life according to\nVirtue” is the End to be sought. 3. The view that virtue can be taught and\nwhatever is intermediate between Virtue and Vice is perceived as indifferent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Zeno, in the\nend, did not pursue the way of the Cynics, and this wasn\u2019t because he was shy,\nas suggested by Laertius, but because of his perception of the idea of \u201cliving\nin accordance with nature\u201d. For Zeno the term \u201cnature\u201d had a whole different\nsubstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeno and\nMegarians<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 The Megarians – coming from the city of Megara\n– were also active in Athens at that time. As Laertius reports, Zeno attended\nthe lectures of Stilpo. It is even said that Stilpon was such a capable master\nthat many followed him, abandoning their own masters. This might also have been\ndone by Zeno, though Crates may have put forth strong resistance. As Laertius\nrefers: \u201cWhen Crates laid hold on him by the cloak to drag him from Stilpo,\nZeno said, “The right way to seize a philosopher, Crates, is by the ears:\npersuade me then and drag me off by them; but, if you use violence, my body\nwill be with you, but my mind with Stilpo\u201d (D.L. 7.24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stilpo was famous\nfor disputation but best known for his apatheia<\/em>.\nIndeed, when Demetrius Poliorcetes destroyed and pillaged Megara, Stilpo\ndeclared that he had lost nothing, since he had maintained his virtue and\nknowledge. \u00abWe should probably not think of Zeno as becoming a formal student\nof Stilpo\u00bb, notes Hahm, \u00abfor this would have meant moving to Megara. But it is\nquite likely that Zeno attended his lectures when Stilpo visited Athens\u00bb (Hahm\nD. (1977), p.221).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diodoros Cronos\nand his student Philo of Megara are also included in Zeno\u2019s Megarian teachers.\nZeno worked hard at dialectic with Diodorus (fl. 300 B.C.), who had an enormous\nimpact on Stoicism in general. He was among the first explorers of\npropositional logic, and became particularly known for the Master (or Ruling)\nargument, which is based on three sentences, so named due to the fact that to\nretain all three is impossible because of their mutual conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Influence of\nPlato and his Academy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Laertius mentions\n(7.2) that Zeno had been Xenocrates\u2019(396-314\nB.C.) pupil. Sandbach questions Laertius\u2019 view, arguing that it is\nchronologically impossible; \u201cif Xenocrates was not already dead when Zeno\narrived in Athens, his death cannot have been far off\u201d (Sandbach F. H. (1985),\np. 13). However, Zeno could have caught up, even for a little while, with\nattending Xenocrates. Besides, his views were supported by his pupil Polemo,\nsuccessor to his school and admittedly Zeno\u2019s teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polemoled the Academy from 314 to 276B.C., and was chiefly known for his\nfine character, which set an example of self-control for his students. The Stoics\nprobably derived from Polemo: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Their\nconcept of oikeiosis <\/em>(an\naccommodation to nature), <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The\nimportance of living according to nature<\/em>,\nand practical philosophy, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. That the kosmos <\/em>is god<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Sedley\nstresses: \u00abIf I am even half-right in my reconstruction, the continuity between\nthe physics of the late fourth-century Academy and the physics of the Stoa is a\nprofound one. Zeno, it seems, really did learn his physics from his Platonist\nteacher Polemo\u00bb (Sedley, D.N. (2002), p. 77-78).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same view was\nseconded by Laertius with the following anecdote hinting that Zeno taught at\nhis school what he had learned at Polemo: \u00abPolemois said to have addressed him thus: “You slip in, Zeno, by\nthe garden door \u2013I’m quite aware of it\u2013 you filch my doctrines and give them a\nPhoenician make-up”\u00bb (D.L. 7.25).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The view of\nLaertius is obviously exaggerated; however, as Gr. Reydams-Schilst argues, it\nis almost certain that via Polemo the\nOld Academy helped to shape Stoicism<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ought not,\nfinally, to overlook the idea of the four cardinal virtues, perhaps most famously\narticulated in Book 4 of Plato\u2019s Republic (427e\u2013435c, 441c\u2013443c), which was\nembraced by the Stoics, as in much other subsequent Greek and Roman philosophy:\nphron\u00easis, s\u00f4phrosun\u00ea, andreia, dikaiosun\u00ea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, since\nZeno was not a member of the Academy, he was able to adopt what he thought\nproper from the physics of Platonists, such as the theory of two principles,\nbut at the same time to ignore what did not interest him, such as the\ntripartite division of the Soul or its incorporeality. The stoic view that the\nSoul is corporeal would make both Plato and Aristotle turn in their graves.\nThis freedom led to the birth of a new philosophy. Finally the Stoics read and\ndeveloped Plato\u2019s cosmology independently of Academic interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeno and\nPeripatetics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Zeno came to\nAthens, Aristotlewas already dead,\nbut his pupils were active in the city, notably Theophrastus. It is, however, a\nfact that the biographical tradition does not mention a Peripatetic among\nZeno\u2019s masters. The only reference to Aristotle ascribed to Zeno is in his\nreport of how Crates the Cynic was once reading Aristotle’s Protrepticus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, both\nearlier and contemporary scholars are certain of the substantial relation\nbetween the peripatetic and stoic philosophy. Carneades\u2019 view that the Stoics\nand Peripatetics taught essentially the same ethical doctrines is well-known,\nvarying only in their terminology. For example, to express disposition\/mood,\nthe Stoics prefer \u03b4\u03b9\u03ac\u03b8\u03b5\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2<\/em>, but intending\nthe sense of the Aristotelian \u1f15\u03be\u03b9\u03c2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, the\nAristotelian school was in its early days much concerned with problems of\nethics. It would be rather strange if the Stoics did not take notice of what\nwas being said in the Lyceum (Rist J. M. (1980), p. 1.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is widely\nknown that there were two different sets of Aristotle\u2019s books: the ones\ncontaining notes on his lessons taught at his school, the works of Corpus\nAristotelicum, the esoteric ones, as we know them, and those published by\nAristotle for common use, the so-called exoteric (It should be noted that no\nexoteric book exists today).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeno had the\nopportunity during his twenty years of study either to obtain permission from\nthe Peripatetics to become familiar with the esoteric books of their school (the\nCorpus Aristotelicum) or to read the exoteric ones released by Aristotle\nhimself and being available in the libraries or the bookstores of Athens, or,\nfinally, attend Theophrastus\u2019 classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are certain\nthat Theophrastus had in his possession the Corpus Aristotelicum, but we do not\nknow whether, or not, they were accessible to outsiders. It is, then, highly\ndoubtful that Zeno might have read the esoteric books, but very\nprobable to have read some of the exoteric ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should not be\nforgotten that Zeno had studied his philosophical predecessors. Among the works\nwritten by himself, as Laertius mentions, are also the Pythagorean Questions and\nthe Homeric Problems in five books. Why would he not have read, then,\nAristotle\u2019s works, as well, which had been circulating in the Athenian agora?     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we\nshould reasonably accept the fact that Zeno had come into contact with\nTheophrastus. \u201cTheophrastus was beyond doubt the most popular lecturer of the\nday; his lectures attracted a total of two thousand students. It would be\nstrange if Zeno had lived in Athens, thirsting for instruction, without having\nheard so much as a single lecture of Theophrastus\u201d, argues Hahm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plutarch even\nmentions an anecdote according to which Zeno said with reference to\nTheophrastus’ numerous audience ‘his choir is indeed larger, but mine had the\nsweeter voices’. The anecdote clearly hints both to the simultaneous coexistence\nof the two lecturers and to the affinity of their subject matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear from\nthe above that Zeno came into contact with Theophrastus and that he was aware\nof Aristotle’s views. After all, one could accept Aristotle\u2019s and Zeno\u2019s views\nas the natural consequences of the independent reaction of the two men to the\nsame problems (Sandbach F. H. (1985), p. 55), although Aristotle\u2019s answers to\nthe theories postulated by Plato had preceded the appearance of Zeno\u2019s\nphilosophy by many years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, if the\nabove is true, that is, the fact that Zeno was influenced in shaping his\nphilosophy both by his contemporary and the earlier philosophers, then the\ntruth of the anecdote about Zeno\u2019s love of learning is incontestably proven: \u201cA\ndialectician once showed him seven logical forms concerned with the sophism\nknown as “The Reaper,” and Zeno asked him how much he wanted for\nthem. Being told a hundred drachmas, he promptly paid two hundred: to such\nlengths would he go in his love of learning.\u201d (D.L. 7. 25) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zealous Zeno, however, was a pioneer in that he succeeded in creating a completely new, independent and systematic philosophy, which uses knowledge to provide man with a life in harmony with his nature, a blissful life. Still today, we should feel grateful to Zeno \u2013this great philosopher\u2013 who meticulously studied the philosophical tradition, while listening to the best teachers of his day, and in the end managed to critically embody the great wealth of ancient Greek philosophy either by embracing his predecessors\u2019 best answers, or by giving his own answers to the questions being posed. Working hard, he devised a new original philosophical system that can teach any human being the way to enjoy life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christina Kourfali<\/strong> teaches Stoic philosophy as a way of life in Thessaloniki of Greece, and has established a community called Stoiccloud<\/a>. She is the author of <\/em>Live Like The Stoics: How to Get Self-Awareness and Serenity<\/a>, and a variety of articles on Stoic philosophy. She has spoken at related conferences, and is a high school director teaching self-awareness to her adolescent students.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, the Modern Stoicism organization organizes the main Stoicon conference, and helps to promote local Stoicon-X events. Over the last several years, we have developed a tradition here at Stoicism Today of publishing as many of the talks and workshops from Stoicon and Stoicon-Xs as blog posts, in order to allow our readership who … Continue reading “Studying Philosophy in Athens: the Case of Zeno by Christina Kourfali”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8636,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stoicism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8636"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12326"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12597,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12326\/revisions\/12597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}