Musonius Rufus, Cleanthes, and the Stoic Community at Rome

Elenchos: Rivista di Studi Sul Pensiero Antico 41 (1):71-104 (2020)
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Abstract

Surprisingly little attention has been devoted to Musonius Rufus, a noted teacher and philosopher in first–century CE Rome, despite ample evidence for his impact in the period. This paper attempts to situate Musonius in relation to his philosophical predecessors in order to clarify both the contemporary status of the Stoic tradition and the value of engaging with the central figures of that school’s history. I make the case for seeing Cleanthes as a particularly prominent predecessor for Musonius and reaffirm the importance of framing his philosophical commitments in the context of the Stoic tradition. On this latter point, I attempt to connect Musonius’ perspective on askesis and moral development with that of Posidonius (and Seneca). In doing so, I push back against the sometimes overly schematic intellectualism attributed to Stoic ethics generally.

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Benjamin Harriman
University of Edinburgh

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Aristotle on learning to be good.Myles Burnyeat - 1980 - In Amélie Rorty (ed.), Essays on Aristotle's Ethics. University of California Press. pp. 69–92.
Determinism and freedom in Stoic philosophy.Susanne Bobzien - 1998 - New York: Oxford University Press.
5. Aristotle on Learning to Be Good.M. F. Burnyeat - 1980 - In Amélie Rorty (ed.), Essays on Aristotle's Ethics. University of California Press. pp. 69-92.

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