Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Aeschylus, Stathis Psillos and Stoic school

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4 ideas

2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 1. On Reason
Traditionally, rational beliefs are those which are justified by reasons [Psillos]
     Full Idea: The traditional conception of Reason is that all beliefs should be justified (that is, backed up by reasons) in order to be rational.
     From: Stathis Psillos (Causation and Explanation [2002], §1.6)
     A reaction: I think it is the duty of all philosophers to either defend this traditional view, or quit philosophy for some other activity. Rorty suggests hermeneutics. In a democracy, rulers should be continually required to give reasons for their decisions.
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 2. Logos
Stoics study canons, criteria and definitions, in order to find the truth [Stoic school, by Diog. Laertius]
     Full Idea: They include the study of canons and criteria in order to discover the truth. This is to straighten out the differences among the presentations. And they also include the definitional part for the purposes of recognising the truth.
     From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 07.42
     A reaction: Might we call this categorisation, justifications and definitions? This is part of the study of logos, which comes first in the stoic view of philosophy.
Stoics believed that rational capacity in man (logos) is embodied in the universe [Stoic school, by Long]
     Full Idea: The Stoics believed the faculty in man which enables him to think, to plan and to speak - which they called 'logos' - is literally embodied in the universe at large.
     From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by A.A. Long - Hellenistic Philosophy 4 Intro
     A reaction: This is the stage where logos becomes something dramatically more grand than the logos found in Plato's 'Theaetetus' (but see Heraclitus). It is what is meant by St John's 'In the beginning was the logos' (which is straightforward stoicism).
The Stoics distinguished spoken logos from logos within the mind [Stoic school, by Plotinus]
     Full Idea: The Stoics distinguished between logos prophorikos ('uttered reasoning') and logos endiathetos ('reason stored within').
     From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Plotinus - The Enneads 5.1.03 n7
     A reaction: These seems required, since logos is often the 'giving of an account', but it is also the rational principle that rules nature.