20.10.2022

Vortrag im Rahmen des Oberseminars von Prof. Corcilius: What is it to be a Stoic being?

Redner: Dr. Reier Helle (LMU München). Zeit und Ort: Do., 20.10.22., 18:00 Uhr, Raum X, Burse

Although numerous details of Stoic ontology remain obscure, our sources are clear that the Stoics adopted the position that all and only bodies (sōmata) are beings (onta). What is not clear is why the Stoics accepted such a radically corporealist view. In this paper, I approach this question by considering what it is to be a being, for the Stoics. I argue that there is a certain way of being a subject (hupokeimenon), which seems to be privileged in Stoic thinking as uniquely characteristic of beings, that is, in outline, to be a stable, determinate subject of motion. This privileging provides a plausible account of why all and only bodies will be beings for the Stoics. Moreover, it points toward a philosophically substantive Stoic argument that only bodies can be beings.