About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100198237944

ISBN-139780198237945

eBay Product ID (ePID)534814

Product Key Features

Number of Pages454 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameDeterminism and Freedom in Stoic Philosophy

Publication Year1999

SubjectFree Will & Determinism, General, History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical

TypeTextbook

AuthorSusanne Bobzien

Subject AreaPhilosophy

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.1 in

Item Weight24.7 Oz

Item Length9.2 in

Item Width6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN98-026373

Dewey Edition21

eBook FormatnetLibrary

Reviews'[Bobzien] demonstrates a scholarly command of the ancient texts and the contemporary secondary literature that places her as one of the most knowledgeable philosophers working in the history of ancient philosophy today'Review of Metaphysics, 'This is a work of magnificent scope and superb execution... Suzanne Bobzien brings to her huge exegetical agenda an exceptional combination of clarity, independence of mind, knowledge of the sources, skill and judgement in using them, and logical expertise. As well as teaching us a greatdeal about Stoicism, this book is an education in how to deal with ancient philosophical texts ... Suzanne Bobzien has given us a marvellous aid for understanding and appreciating the Stoic doctrine of fate.'Sarah Broadie, Mind,, 'Determinism and Freedom in Stoic Philosophy is likely to be a dominate work in the field for quite some time'Review of Metaphysics, 'This magisterial book addresses a central topic in the history of philosophy. It situates the Stoic theory of casual determination against the background of an exact and philosophically rich understanding of their physics and metaphysics, and presents it in the context of the most carefulscrutiny of sources and evidence for any aspect of Soicism of which I am aware.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000., 'This is still largely untrodden area, but we owe it to Bobzien, as we owe very much else, that we can now see much more clearly than before where we should be looking for knowledge.'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159, This is an awe-inspiring work ... It is extraordinarily ambitious. It aims to recover and understand, so far as the sources allow, the entire early Stoic theory of fate, causal determinism, and responsibility. It achieves this ambition while at the same time showing how immensely more difficult the task is than anyone had appreciated before ... It will most certainly be the first work that everybody interested has to get to grips with. They will have to start here both becausethe book is a model of scholarly method and because it is an outstanding example of lucid philosophical thinking in an area where clear thought is extremely difficult., 'it is written clearly in jargon-free English'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159, This is an awe-inspiring work ... It is extraordinarily ambitious. It aims to recover and understand, so far as the sources allow, the entire early Stoic theory of fate, causal determinism, and responsibility. It achieves this ambition while at the same time showing how immensely more difficult the task is than anyone had appreciated before ... It will most certainly be the first work that everybody interested has to get to grips with. They will have to start here both because the book is a model of scholarly method and because it is an outstanding example of lucid philosophical thinking in an area where clear thought is extremely difficult., 'Bobzien's erudite and philosophically sophisticated work marks both the huge success of contemporary studies of the ancient Stoics and a masterly personal achievement by its author. It is now without doubt the basic book on a substantial area of Stoic thougt from its beginnigs down to the 3rdcentury A.D.'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159, 'her discussions of the various sources are invariably well informed, acute, and formulated with a precision that will permit meaningful disagreement rather than muddle./ This is a handsomely produced volume, lucidly written and without needless ornamentation.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000., 'This is still largely untrodden area, but we owe it to Bobzien, as we owe very much else, that we can now see much more clearly than before where we should be looking for knowledge.'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159'it is written clearly in jargon-free English'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159'Bobzien's erudite and philosophically sophisticated work marks both the huge success of contemporary studies of the ancient Stoics and a masterly personal achievement by its author. It is now without doubt the basic book on a substantial area of Stoic thougt from its beginnigs down to the 3rd century A.D.'International Philosophical Quarterly, vol.XL, no.3, issue 159'Determinism and Freedom in Stoic Philosophy is likely to be a dominate work in the field for quite some time'Review of Metaphysics'[Bobzien] demonstrates a scholarly command of the ancient texts and the contemporary secondary literature that places her as one of the most knowledgeable philosophers working in the history of ancient philosophy today'Review of Metaphysics'This magisterial book addresses a central topic in the history of philosophy. It situates the Stoic theory of casual determination against the background of an exact and philosophically rich understanding of their physics and metaphysics, and presents it in the context of the most careful scrutiny of sources and evidence for any aspect of Soicism of which I am aware.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000.'A book like this one, which anchors such discussion firmly in a scrupulous assessment of the evidence for the Stoic theory, is overdue and establishes a new and more solidly fixed reference point for the topics it treats.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000.'a profound understanding of Stoic physics and logic.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000.'her discussions of the various sources are invariably well informed, acute, and formulated with a precision that will permit meaningful disagreement rather than muddle./ This is a handsomely produced volume, lucidly written and without needless ornamentation.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000.'This is a work of magnificent scope and superb execution... Suzanne Bobzien brings to her huge exegetical agenda an exceptional combination of clarity, independence of mind, knowledge of the sources, skill and judgement in using them, and logical expertise. As well as teaching us a great deal about Stoicism, this book is an education in how to deal with ancient philosophical texts ... Suzanne Bobzien has given us a marvellous aid for understanding andappreciating the Stoic doctrine of fate.'Sarah Broadie, Mind,, 'A book like this one, which anchors such discussion firmly in a scrupulous assessment of the evidence for the Stoic theory, is overdue and establishes a new and more solidly fixed reference point for the topics it treats.' Brad Inwood, The Classical Review, 2000., "This is an awe-inspiring work....It is extraordinarily ambitious. It aims to recover and understand, so far as the sources allow, the entire early Stoic theory of fate, causal determinism, and responsibility. It achieves this ambition while at the same time showing how immensely more difficult the task is than anyone had appreciated before....It will most certainly be the first work that everybody interested has to get to grips with. They will have to start here both because the book is a model of scholarly method and because it is an outstanding example of lucid philosophical thinking in an area where clear thought is extremely difficult."--Miles Burnyeat, All Souls College, Oxford in

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal188

Table Of ContentIntroduction1. Determinism and Fate2. Two Chrysippean Arguments for Causal Determinism3. Modality, Determinism, and Freedom4. Divination, Modality,and Universal Regularity5. Fate, Action, and Motivation: The Idle Argument6. Determinism and Moral Responsibility: Chrysippus's Compatibilism7. Freedom and that which Depends on us: Epictetus and Early Stoics8. A Later Stoic Theory of CompatibilismBibliography; Indexes

SynopsisSusanne Bobzien presents the definitive study of one of the most important intellectual legacies of the ancient Greek world: the Stoic theory of causal determinism. She identifies the main problems that the Stoics addressed and reconstructs the theory. She discusses how the Stoics squared their determinism with their conceptions of possibility, action, freedom, and moral responsibility, and how they defended it against objections and criticism by other philosophers. She shows how the Stoics distinguished their causal determinism from ancient theories of logical determinism, fatalism, and necessitarianism. Along the way she gives an authoritative account of many other related aspects of Stoic thought, including their views on the predictability of the future, the role of empirical sciences, the determination of character, and moral freedom. Bobzien's study of these central doctrines of Stoicism reveals the considerable philosophical richness and power that they retain today., Bobzien presents the definitive study of one of the most interesting intellectual legacies of the ancient Greeks: the Stoic theory of causal determinism. She explains what it was, how the Stoics justified it, and how it relates to their views on possibility, action, freedom, moral responsibility, and many other topics. She demonstrates the considerable philosophical richness and power that these ideas retain today., Susanne Bobzien presents the definitive study of one of the most important intellectual legacies of the ancient Greeks: the Stoic theory of causal determinism. She reconstructs the theory and discusses how the Stoics (third century BC to second century AD) justified it, and how it relates to their views on possibility, action, freedom, moral responsibility, and many other topics. She demonstrates the considerable philosophical richness and power that these ideas retain today.

LC Classification NumberB528.B576 1998