Open AccessThe political function of the sage in Stoicism
Author(s) -
Nikoletta Hendrik
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
különbség
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-158X
pISSN - 1785-7821
DOI - 10.14232/kulonbseg.2016.16.1.199
Subject(s) - stoicism , politics , harmony (color) , political philosophy , ideal (ethics) , argument (complex analysis) , epistemology , sage , function (biology) , philosophy , sociology , law , political science , art , physics , evolutionary biology , nuclear physics , biology , biochemistry , chemistry , visual arts
The paper investigates changing ideals of stoicism from the perspective of political philosophy. In the early stoa, the sage was idealized, while in the middle and late period, the ideal of the prokopton became the centre of philosophical attention. In the argument I distinguish between two political models. In one of the models, sages have an actual role, while in the other they do not. In the second model it is only the ideal of the sage that helps create and maintain the political system most in harmony with natural law.