In the Greco-Roman world, Stoicism was traditionally divided into three branches of philosophical discourse: logic, ethics and physics. While logic provided the tools to understand Stoic thought, and ethics dealt with Stoic practice, physics concerned itself with the ontological theory underlying the whole of the Stoic way of life (‘theory’ in the original Greek sense of the word theoria, ‘vision’).
Physics provided the ontological foundation for the ancient Stoics—but can such a foundation be imported wholesale into the 21st century? Certainly there are many elements of Stoicism’s monist and materialist ontology that share a resonance with the modern scientific world we live in today. But other aspects, expressed in terms of the mythos of antiquity appear out of place, such as pantheist theology and the assertion of an anthropocentric universe.
Can Stoic physics be re-visioned, yet leaving Stoic praxis essentially intact? My aim with the Principia Omnium is to investigate anew the many implications derived from a monist vision, re-interpreting Stoic physics as a non-theistic and non-anthropocentric ontology, without reference to any pantheist deity.
To do this would not involve a radical re-interpretation of traditional Stoic physics, since pantheism is in actuality not that far removed from atheism: in essence, the pantheist god is identical to the cosmos itself. In removing the anthropocentric perspective of Stoic physics, the necessity of a pantheist god (with the shared characteristics of ‘personhood') is likewise removed. What remains is a divine cosmos instead of the cosmos as a conscious, anthropocentric Divinity.
However, the Principia Omnium is more than a mere demythologised version of Stoic physics. It is intended as a series of philosophical meditations leading to a new Stoic vision. By investigating certain assumptions commonly affirmed in a dualistic model of the cosmos, and by deconstructing such assumptions in light of a monist model, a new understanding of Stoic philosophy may be gained.
It is not merely the conclusions of the ten principles that matter, but the active process and exercise of thinking though the implications of a monist ontology that may lead to a deeper understanding of the rationale behind the Stoic life. In this way, the ontological model outlined in the Principia Omnium can be grafted onto Stoic ethics and therefore fulfil the role of a kind of ‘updated physics’ for Stoic philosophy in the 21st century.
Physics provided the ontological foundation for the ancient Stoics—but can such a foundation be imported wholesale into the 21st century? Certainly there are many elements of Stoicism’s monist and materialist ontology that share a resonance with the modern scientific world we live in today. But other aspects, expressed in terms of the mythos of antiquity appear out of place, such as pantheist theology and the assertion of an anthropocentric universe.
Can Stoic physics be re-visioned, yet leaving Stoic praxis essentially intact? My aim with the Principia Omnium is to investigate anew the many implications derived from a monist vision, re-interpreting Stoic physics as a non-theistic and non-anthropocentric ontology, without reference to any pantheist deity.
To do this would not involve a radical re-interpretation of traditional Stoic physics, since pantheism is in actuality not that far removed from atheism: in essence, the pantheist god is identical to the cosmos itself. In removing the anthropocentric perspective of Stoic physics, the necessity of a pantheist god (with the shared characteristics of ‘personhood') is likewise removed. What remains is a divine cosmos instead of the cosmos as a conscious, anthropocentric Divinity.
However, the Principia Omnium is more than a mere demythologised version of Stoic physics. It is intended as a series of philosophical meditations leading to a new Stoic vision. By investigating certain assumptions commonly affirmed in a dualistic model of the cosmos, and by deconstructing such assumptions in light of a monist model, a new understanding of Stoic philosophy may be gained.
It is not merely the conclusions of the ten principles that matter, but the active process and exercise of thinking though the implications of a monist ontology that may lead to a deeper understanding of the rationale behind the Stoic life. In this way, the ontological model outlined in the Principia Omnium can be grafted onto Stoic ethics and therefore fulfil the role of a kind of ‘updated physics’ for Stoic philosophy in the 21st century.
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