This book offers a reconstruction of the early Stoic doctrine of prolepsis, revealing it to be much closer to Platonic recollection in certain respects than previously thought. The standard interpretation of prolepsis as preconceptions is inconsistent with their status as criteria of truth. Rather, prolepsis is a form of tacit knowledge that requires articulation and systematization. This reconstruction is supported by a comprehensive collection of texts relating to prolepsis from Epicurus to Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Author(s): Henry Dyson
Series: Sozomena - Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts 5
Edition: 1
Publisher: De Gruyter
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 299
Henry Dyson - Prolepsis and Ennoia in the Early Stoa (2009)......Page 1
Sozomena - Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts - Vol. 5......Page 3
ISBN: 9783110212280......Page 5
Acknowlegements......Page 6
Note on Translations......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Introduction: The Seeds of Virtue and Knowledge......Page 16
1.1 Prolepsis......Page 35
1.2 Koinai Ennoiai......Page 39
1.3 The Underlying Doctrine......Page 42
1.4 Sandbach's Terminological Arguments......Page 45
1.5 Sandbach's Argument from Concept-Formation......Page 50
1.6 Additional Problems......Page 53
2.1 Prolepsis as a Criterion for Sensible Presentations......Page 57
2.2 Prolepsis as a Criterion for Non-Sensible Presentations......Page 64
2.3 Common Conceptions as Criteria of Truth......Page 67
3.1 The Meaning of Koine......Page 82
3.2 Prolepsis and Common Conceptions as Forms of Tacit Knowledge......Page 87
3.3 The Identity of Prolepses and Common Conceptions......Page 94
Interim Conclusions: Meno's Paradox and the Early Stoa......Page 106
4.1 The Problem of Induction......Page 114
4.2 The Epicurean Account of Concept-Formation......Page 118
4.3 Stoic Accounts of Concept-Formation......Page 122
4.4 Implications of the Chrysippean Account......Page 136
5.1 Two Functions of Prolepsis in Ordinary Cognition......Page 144
5.2 Prolepsis and Recognition......Page 147
5.3 Prolepsis and Inferential Thought......Page 153
5.4 Prolepsis and Socratic Intellectualism......Page 162
5.5 Prolepsis and Stoic Dialectic......Page 167
Conclusion: Are the Stoics Empiricists or Rationalists ?......Page 179
Tables: The Usage of Prolepsis, Ennoia and Related Terms......Page 186
Appendix A: Epicurus and Later Epicureans......Page 197
Appendix B: The Early Stoa......Page 206
Appendix C: Cicero and Seneca......Page 215
Appendix D: Epictetus......Page 227
Appendix E: Plutarch......Page 242
Appendix F: Sextus Empiricus......Page 261
Appendix G: Alexander of Aphradisias......Page 278
Appendix H: Alcinous......Page 284
Bibliography......Page 287
