Single Idea 5969

[catalogued under 2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 2. Sufficient Reason]

Full Idea

Chrysippus said that the uncaused is altogether non-existent.

Gist of Idea

Chrysippus said the uncaused is non-existent

Source

report of Chrysippus (fragments/reports [c.240 BCE]) by Plutarch - 70: Stoic Self-contradictions 1045c

Book Reference

Plutarch: 'Moralia - vol 13 part 2', ed/tr. Cherniss,Harold [Harvard Loeb 1993], p.509


A Reaction

The difficulty is to see what empirical basis there can be for such a claim, or what argument of any kind other than an intuition. Induction is the obvious answer, but Hume teaches us scepticism about any claim that 'there can be no exceptions'.