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> Stoic logic was much later than Aristotle. I think it got lost and largely forgotten after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, while the Aristotelian s
by ogogmad 4y ago
> Stoic logic was much later than Aristotle.
I think it got lost and largely forgotten after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, while the Aristotelian system got preserved. Amusingly enough, one 19th century philosopher opined that Stoic logic was "dullness, triviality, and scholastic quibbling" and he welcomed the fact that the works of Chrysippus were no longer extant. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoic_logic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoic_logic
- adrian_b 4y agoI believe that the association of Stoic logic with Stoicism might have been the cause for it being forgotten. The early Christians viewed both Stoicism and Epicureanism as competitors, so after they obtained the power in the Roman Empire they have made efforts to discredit and persecute anyone and anything associated with those 2 philosophies. On the other hand, Aristotle and Plato were more distant in the past and more disconnected from the then current political issues, so they were not perceived as threats and their study continued without impediments.
- ogogmad 4y agoIt is much more likely that the preservation of literature had become less affordable following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. In the past, books were written on perishable material and had to be copied down to survive. The copying was tedious, labour intensive and expensive. Without the Roman bureaucracy I don't see how many books could have survived. This is far more likely to be the reason than a deliberate effort by some fanatical Christians.
- actionfromafar 4y agoSynthesis: it can be both. Less interest in stoic because of political reasons, less chance over the centuries someone cares about keeping the stoic logic text around.