Stoic Logic, Mates, Chapter 1, §2 Stoic Authors to be Considered

by Corry Shores
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Benson Mates

Stoic Logic

Chapter I: Introduction

§2 Stoic Authors to be Considered

Zeno of Citium was the Stoic School's founder. Two Socratic schools influenced him: the Cynics and the Megarians. Zeno obtained his moral teachings from the Cynics, and his logic from the Megarians. Since we are only concerned with Stoic Logic, we will trace Zeno's influences back through the Megarians.

Euclid of Megara founded the Megarian school. He followed Socrates, and was a slightly older contemporary of Plato. [click on image for enlargement.]

Eubulides followed Euclid. We attribute the Liar Paradox to him. Ichthyas succeeded Euclid as head of the Megarian school. Another Euclid student, Thrasymachus, taught Stilpo, who was a contemporary of Aristotle. Stilpo's most famous student was Zeno, founder of the Stoic school. Besides the Stoic School, Eubulides, Apollonius Cronus, Diodorus Cronus, and Philo formed another branch of the Megarian school. (5c.d)

Diodorus lived in the Alexandrian court. His nickname was Cronus ('old fool'). Yet he was an accomplished logician.

We now only know of two important definitions of Diodorus:

1) a proposition is possible if and only if it either is true or will be true, and

2) a conditional proposition is true if and only if it neither is nor was possible for the antecedent to be true and the consequent false.

Philo of Megara was one of Diodorus' pupils. He disagreed with Diodorus over the nature of possibility.

Zeno lived ca. 350-260 [other accounts vary]. He was born in Cyprus. Zeno proposed language reforms. And he loved coining new words. So he is responsible for much of Stoic logic's technical vocabulary.

Cleanthes was the second head of the Stoic School. He took-up all of Zeno's teachings and succeeded him.

Chrysippus succeeded Cleanthes. He was able and prolific. And we think he was responsible for transforming Stoic logic into a calculus.

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From:

Mates, Benson. Stoic Logic. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. [Originally published in 1953 as Volume 26 of the University of California Publications in Philosophy.]

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