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Chrysippus - Philosophy, Bibliographical references

Stoic philosopher, born in Soli, Cilicia. He went to Athens as a youth, and studied under Cleanthes to become the third and greatest head of the Stoa. He wrote over 700 works, of which only fragments remain.

Chrysippus of Soli (c.280–c.207 BC, Χρύσιππος ο Σολεύς) was Cleanthes' pupil and the eventual successor as the head of stoic philosophy.

Little is known about Chrysippus' childhood except that he grew up in the neighborhood of Tarsus, where he may have been exposed to philosophical teachings. He moved to Athens to study philosophy after losing substantial inherited property through legal contrivance. Chrysippus then went on to become Cleanthes' pupil after being attracted to the Stoic master's loyalty to Zeno of Citium.

A prolific writer (he is said to rarely have gone without writing 500 lines a day) and debater, Chrysippus would often take both sides of an argument, drawing criticism from his followers.

Chrysippus is said to have given wine to his donkey, and then died of laughter after seeing it attempt to eat figs, although the story is dubious .

Philosophy

Background

Most of Chrysippus' ideology is shaped by his brief education with Zeno and later from Arcesilaus and Aristo of Chios. His later beliefs, however, were shaped by the teachings of Cleanthes, whose doctrines Chrysippus steadfastly believed in, but was displeased by the means chosen to teach the message. Chrysippus vowed to change that due to the effect it was having on the Stoa.

Virtue

Chrysippus believed virtue to be a quality of the soul, and that virtue, along with soul and body, were all intertwined. Since we all come from the same divine origin, Chrysippus explained, nobility can be achieved only through the demonstration of virtue. Chrysippus held that an individual should fervently strive to attain a level of altruism and goodwill towards society, in order to maintain a good balance of the social order. For Chrysippus, hero-worship and praise was not an attractive feature in an individual;

Logos and Pneuma

A principal of Stoic philosophy is that the Universe is a cosmos. This led Chrysippus to a few conclusions:

Logos (universal reason) is shaped by nature and society.

It is believed that Chrysippus dedicated a large portion of his writings, on the subject of logic, specifically, propositional logic.

Fate

Though many Stoic philosophers might not agree with the modern definition of fatalism, Chrysippus held that somewhat, all things happen due to fate. and that some evils are the outcome of some goods:

"There could be no justice, unless there were also injustice;

Bibliographical references

^ Peter Bowler and Jonathan Green. Craig (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. Edwards (ed), Stoicism, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol.
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