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Full Idea
The doctrine of antiquity nearest to physical determinism was the Stoic doctrine of fate. But their fate is the work of an agent, and is predetermined in part with regard to us, and even seems be contingent on anticipated human choices.
Gist of Idea
The nearest to ancient determinism is Stoic fate, but that is controlled by a sympathetic God
Source
report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Michael Frede - A Free Will Intro
Book Ref
Frede,Michael: 'A Free Will' [Univ of California 2011], p.14
A Reaction
[compressed] The gist is that this is the most determinist the ancients ever get (e.g. the swerve of Epicurus), and it is not very determinist at all, in comparison with modern Laplacean physical determinism. Late antiquity determinism was stronger.
Related Idea
Idea 23314 Greeks explained regularity by intellectual design, not by laws [Democritus, by Frede,M]
| 14062 | Sooner follow mythology, than accept the 'fate' of natural philosophers [Epicurus] |
| 20836 | The Lazy Argument responds to fate with 'why bother?', but the bothering is also fated [Chrysippus, by Cicero] |
| 20837 | Fate is an eternal and fixed chain of causal events [Chrysippus] |
| 21679 | When we say events are fated by antecedent causes, do we mean principal or auxiliary causes? [Chrysippus] |
| 23315 | The nearest to ancient determinism is Stoic fate, but that is controlled by a sympathetic God [Stoic school, by Frede,M] |
| 21674 | Even Apollo can only foretell the future when it is naturally necessary [Carneades, by Cicero] |
| 23347 | If I know I am fated to be ill, I should want to be ill [Epictetus] |
| 13162 | Sloth's Syllogism: either it can't happen, or it is inevitable without my effort [Leibniz] |
| 24133 | I have perfected fatalism, as recurrence and denial of the will [Nietzsche] |
| 24152 | Fate is inspiring, if you understand you are part of it [Nietzsche] |
| 9253 | The human heart has a tiresome tendency to label as fate only what crushes it [Camus] |