more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
Cicero (drawing on Panaetius) treats wisdom as if its province were primarily a disinterested pursuit of knowledge. But earlier Stoics gave purely moral definitions of wisdom.
Gist of Idea
Cicero sees wisdom in terms of knowledge, but earlier Stoics saw it as moral
Source
report of M. Tullius Cicero (On Duties ('De Officiis') [c.44 BCE], 1.11-20) by A.A. Long - Hellenistic Philosophy 5
Book Ref
Long,A.A.: 'Hellenistic Philosophy' [Duckworth 1986], p.212
A Reaction
I would have thought that after long discussion most ancient (and even modern) philosophers would conclude that it is both. The 'intellectualism' of Socrates hovers in the background, implying that healthy knowledge produces virtue.
6031 | The essence of propriety is consistency [Cicero] |
21405 | Cicero sees wisdom in terms of knowledge, but earlier Stoics saw it as moral [Cicero, by Long] |
20871 | Unfortunately we choose a way of life before we are old enough to think clearly [Cicero] |