The Stoic Doctrine of Providence. A Study of its Development and of Some of its Major Issues

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The Stoic Doctrine of Providence attempts to reconstruct the Stoic doctrine of providence (as argued for in ancient texts now lost) and explain its many fascinating philosophical issues. Examining issues such as the compatibility between good and evil, and how a provident god can serve as model of political leadership, this is the first monograph of its kind to focus on the question of Stoic providence. It offers an in-depth study of the meaning and importance of this topic in eight distinct generations of Stoics, from Zeno of Citium (fourth century B.C.) to Panaetius of Rhodes (second century B.C.) to Marcus Aurelius (second century A.D.). The Stoic Doctrine of Providence is key reading for anyone interested in Ancient Stoicism or the study of divine providence in a philosophical setting. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Why study Stoic providence? 2 Was Stoicism a philosophy or a religion? 3 Stoic providence in context 1 Zeno on providence 1 Providence as one of god’s names 2 Providence and nature 2.1 Nature as a craftsmanlike fire 2.2 Nature as a craftsman 3 Providence and divination 4 Does god care for even ‘the slightest of things’? 2 Cleanthes on providence 1 The world is governed by a divine mind 2 A cosmobiologogical approach 2.1 The world as an intelligent living being and a god 2.2 The sun as the commanding faculty of the world 2.3 The earth as the privileged object of providence 3 The maintenance and destruction of the cosmic order 3.1 The importance of earthly water 3.2 Cleanthes and Zeno on cosmic ekpurôsis 4 Cleanthes’ disagreement with Zeno’s theodicy 5 God’s care for human beings 5.1 All sins are equal 5.2 The starting points towards virtue 5.3 Cleanthes and Chrysippus on aphormai 3 Chrysippus’ On Providence 1 On Providence, book I 1.1 The world is a rational animal 1.2 The world soul and its parts 1.3 The world is full of gods 1.4 The destructibility of the world 1.4.1 The three senses of ‘world’ 1.4.2 Gods and destructibility 1.4.3 The world will not die 1.5 Zeus’ withdrawal into providence and the renewal of the world 2 On Providence, book IV 2.1 Providence and theodicy 2.2 Why good and evil are not separable 2.3 Why providence and evils are not incompatible 3 Fate and moral responsibility 3.1 Chrysippus on fate 3.2 Nature’s provision against the misfortunes of fate 4 Panaetius on providence 1 Panaetius’ On Providence 2 The world is indestructible 3 Doubts about divination 4 Rejection of astrology 4.1 Panaetius’ expertise and Pythagorean approach to cosmology 4.2 Arguments against astrology 5 The human telos and the power of reason 6 Reason, wisdom and politics 5 Posidonius and Cleomedes on providence 1 Posidonius on the human telos 2 Reason as a criterion of truth 3 God’s providence and the cosmos 3.1 The unity of the world and the sympathy of its parts 3.2 The providential power of heaven and the harmonizing function of the sun 4 Against Epicurus 5 Providence and the city (Sen. Ep. 90) 5.1 The condition of the first human beings according to Seneca 5.1.1 Philosophy and wisdom did not yet exist 5.1.2 The appearance of greed and the invention of crafts 5.2 The condition of the first human beings according to Posidonius 5.2.1 Kingship and the voluntary submission to the best 5.2.2 The political usefulness of wisdom 5.2.3 The emergence of vice and the rule of law 6 Seneca on providence 1 Providence and the free unfolding of nature 2 Wisdom and the unfolding of human nature 2.1 The imperfection of human reason 2.2 Human impulse towards knowledge 2.3 Providence and the human telos 3 The practical and political dimension of contemplation 3.1 The ideal of an unimpeded life: death and the easy way out 3.2 The political life and its potential obstacles 3.3 Stoic will versus Platonic reluctance to engage in politics 4 From the cosmic city to Nero’s imperial administration 4.1 The king as god’s viceroy 4.1.1 Absolute power and accountability 4.1.2 God’s providence and philanthropy 4.2 Clemency and the obedience of the people 7 Epictetus on providence 1 Praising providence, or not 1.1 Human beings and contemplation 1.1.1 God and the world: a spectacle to contemplate 1.1.2 Why most human beings fail to contemplate 1.1.3 The cause of double ignorance 1.2 The inner nobility of human beings 1.2.1 Misfortunes and god’s apparent lack of care for human beings 1.2.2 God as father of humans 1.2.3 Man’s nobility and how it is getting perverted 1.2.4 Prohairesis and reason’s self-assessment 1.2.5 Baseness and ungratefulness 2 Providence, philostorgia and human societies 2.1 From parental love of children to philanthrôpia 2.2 Philostorgia as a natural affection 2.3 Epicurus’ anti-social views and the destruction of the city 2.3.1 Epicureanism as a perverted philosophy 2.3.2 Why did Epicurus care? Or on the indomitable force of nature 8 Marcus Aurelius on providence 1 The perfection of the world and its compatibility with evil 1.1 God’s will and its necessary consequences 1.2 A familiar world 1.3 Nature and the necessity of evil 2 Providence and the freedom to sin and to correct oneself 2.1 The power not to fall into evil 2.2 The right to self-correct 3 Providence and the Stoic doctrine of the principles 3.1 Two principles, one cause only 3.2 Everything turns on judgement 3.3 Matter and the things that are indifferent 3.3.1 Being indifferent to what is indifferent 3.3.2 Indifferent things in relation to other people 4 Providence and politics 4.1 Do gods care about individual human beings? 4.2 How gods care about human beings 4.2.1 Divine justice 4.2.2 Caring even for the bad 4.3 Marcus’ views on politics and his benevolence towards the people 9 Providence and self-preservation 1 Nature and the heed for self-preservation 2 Oikeiôsis and the preservation of life 2.1 Self-knowledge 2.2 Self-affection 2.3 Oikeiôsis as a sine qua non condition 3 Providence or atoms? The Epicurean challenge 3.1 Oikeiôsis and the cradle argument 3.2 Hierocles’ attack on Epicureanism 3.3 Lucretius on sense-perceiving one’s own capacities 3.4 Oikeiôsis and the love for the ugly 4 Stoics and Epicureans on the conservation of life 4.1 Lucretius and adaptation 4.2 The Stoics and adaptation to oneself 10 From cosmic oikeiôsis to personal providence 1 The object(s) of divine providence 1.1 The world 1.2 Human beings 2 Alexander’s objection and the Stoic reply 3 The Stoics on the good and the advantageous 3.1 The good and what is advantageous (to oneself) 3.2 Oikeiôsis and the good 4 Cosmic oikeiôsis 4.1 God has sense-perception 4.1.1 Sense-captors located in the air 4.1.2 Other sense-captors 4.2 God has impulses 4.2.1 Impulse as cause of movements 4.2.2 Cosmic impulses 4.2.3 The self-maintenance of the world 5 Providence and individuals 5.1 Epictetus’ account 5.1.1 Ancient conceptions of god 5.1.2 Socrates and god’s omniscience 5.1.3 Demonstration of personal providence 5.2 Cicero’s account 5.2.1 Parts and whole 5.2.2 Divination and the apparent neglect of humans by the gods 5.3 The reception of the Stoic defence of personal providence Bibliography Glossary of Greek terms Glossary of Latin terms Index of sources General index