Abstract
In this paper, we examine the concept of evil in Early Stoicism, which is assessed alongside the concepts of good and indifferents within the Stoic classification of things that partake in essence. Adopting the Socratic theory of virtue, which holds that virtue can be taught, the Stoics divided humanity into two categories: the wise (those who act according to reason and are virtuous) and the fools (those who lack reason and are, therefore, ignorant and bad). In this framework, they introduced the notion of the ‘human in progress,’ a state attainable by all who make continuous and diligent effort. If this model holds true, why then do evil people exist, and why does evil persist in the world? The Stoics, we believe, ultimately provide a solution to this problem, which we aim to explore and substantiate in this paper.
References
Alexander Aphrodisias, 1892, De fato, I. Bruns (ed.), Berlin.
Besnier, B., 2003, “La conception stoïcienne de la matière,” Revue de métaphysique et de morale 1, pp. 51–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/rmm.031.0051
Brouwer, R., 2020, “Why Human Beings Become Bad. The Early Stoic Doctrine of Double Perversion,” ΠΗΓΗ/FONS 5, pp. 61–82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20318/fons.2020.5055
Cicero M. T., 1915, De fato, C. F. W. Mueller, (ed.) Leipzig.
Cicero M. T., 1931, De finibus, H. Rackham (ed.), London.
Clement of Alexandria, 1960, Stromata, O. Stälin (ed.), Berlin.
Cramer, J. A. (ed.), Anecdota graeca, 1844, Oxford.
Diogenes Laertius, 1958, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, R. D. Hicks (ed.), London – Cambridge.
Edelstein, L., 1966, The Meaning of Stoicism, London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674330757
Epictetus, 1956, Discourses, vol. I, W. A. Oldfather (ed.), London – Cambridge.
Epictetus, 1959, Manual and Fragments, vol. II, W. A. Oldfather (ed.) London – Cambridge.
Frede, M., 2007, “The ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν in Ancient Philosophy,” in: E. Moutsopoulos, M. Protopapas-Marneli (eds.), Necessity, Chance, Freedom in Ancient Philosophy, Proceedings. Athens, pp. 110–123.
Galen, 1981, De Placitis Hippocratis et Platonis, Ph. De Lacy (ed.), Berlin.
Gigon, O., 1995, Socrates. Sein Bild in Dichtung und Geschichte (Greek transl. Σωκράτης, η εικόνα του στην ποίηση και στην ιστορία), Athens.
Konstan, D., 2011, “Excerpting as a Reading Practice,” in: Thinking Through Excerpts Studies in Stobaeus, G. Reydams-Schils (ed.), Turnhout, pp. 9–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1484/M.MON-EB.4.00095
Long, A. A., 1986 (1974), Hellenistic Philosophy, Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics, London – California.
Long, A. A., 2001, “The Harmonics of Stoic Virtue,” in: Stoic Studies, A. A. Long (ed.), California, pp. 202–223.
Long, A. A., Vertzagia, D., 2020, “Antiquity Revisited: A Discussion with Anthony Arthur Long,” Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 5 [1], pp. 111–122. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.23324
Pigeaud, J., 20063, La maladie de l’âme. Étude sur la relation de l’âme et du corps dans la tradition médico-philosophique antique, Paris.
Plato, 1924, Euthydemus, W. R. M. Lamb (ed.), London – New York. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.plato_philosopher-euthydemus.1924
Plato, 1956, Protagoras, M. Ostwald (transl.) G. Vlastos (ed. and Intr.), Indianapolis.
Plato, 2004, Republic, C. D. C. Reeve (ed.), Indianapolis – Cambridge.
Plato, 2008, Timaeus, R. Waterfield (ed.), Oxford.
Plutarch, 1959, De Stoicorum Repugnantiis, M. Pohlenz (ed.) Lipsiae.
Protopapas-Marneli, Μ., 2014, “La théologie stoïcienne et l’Hymne à Zeus de Cléanthe,” Xώρα – REAM 12, pp. 229–247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/chora20141211
Reesor, M. E., 1951, “The ‘Indifferents’ of the Old and Middle Stoa,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 82, pp. 102–110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/283423
Sénèque, 1993, Lettres à Lucilius, P. Veyne (ed.), Paris.
Sextus Empiricus, 1967, Against the Logicians, R. G. Bury (ed.), London – Cambridge.
Stobaeus, 1884, Eclogae, C. Wachsmuth, O. Hense (ed.), Berlin.
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM of GREECE n.d., retrieved: 12 October, 2024, from https://www.namuseum.gr/en/collection/ellinistiki-periodos-2/
Zeller, E., 1880, The Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics, transl. O. J. Reichel, London.
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Protopapas-Marneli
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Peitho provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.