Topics in Ancient Philosophy

Stoic Logic

Commentators of the 19th and the early 20th century chastised Stoic logic as dull and uninteresting. Its revaluation, due mainly to the pioneering studies of Jan Łukasiewicz and Benson Mates, was made possible by the development of propositional logic, which enabled historians to attain a better grasp of what the Stoics were up to.

In the first part of this course, I will outline some views which can be plausibly attributed to Chrysippus and his immediate followers. In the second part of the course, we will discuss some relevant literature on stoic logic, which will be presented by the students. Students will be assessed based on their presentations. All the participants in the course are expected to read in advance the essays that will presented and actively participate in the discussion.