Stilpo

Stilpon ( ancient Greek Στίλπων Stilpon, Latinized Stilpon; * no later than the middle of the 4th century BC in Megara; † after 280 BC) was a Greek philosopher of antiquity. Within the history of philosophy, he is considered one of the Megarians.

Stilpons writings are lost. Get is only a fragment of one of his dialogues as well as several testimonies (ancient reports on the life and teachings ).

Tradition

Main source to Stilpon is the detailed report by Diogenes Laertius, further details can be found in a preserved fragment of a dialogue of Stilpon as well as in John Stobaeus, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, Athenaeus, and others.

Life

The survival data Stilpons are unknown. To 315 studied Menedemus of Eretria with him in Megara, in the years 308/ 06 BC Stilpon seems to have already been a well-known personality in the city. After 280 BC, he has resided in Alexandria at the court of Ptolemy I, at least once he was in Athens. It should be grown very old, was married and had a daughter. Stilpon to have been politically active, successfully fought against his addiction to women and wine and have had dealings with courtesans. His character is explicitly praised in ancient sources, he is said to be simple, unsophisticated, quick-witted and funny.

His teachers probably included successor of Euclid of Megara, among them a certain Thrasymachus of Corinth and a certain Pasikles of Thebes, brother of Crates of Thebes ( misinformation are likely that he should have been pupils of Euclid of Megara and Diogenes of Sinope ). Among the numerous pupils of the well nationally respected Stilpon were among other Menedemus of Eretria, Zeno of Citium, Timon of Phlius, the historian Kleitarchos and the Cynic Crates of Thebes, which is but may be more likely was a competitor as a student.

Teaching

The Stilpons writings are lost, we know about Diogenes Laertius, only the names of nine dialogues ( Metrokles, Moschos, Aristippus or Callias, Ptolemy, Chairekrates, Anaximenes, Epigenes, to my daughter, Aristotle ), which is possibly not in it to my daughter concerned a dialogue. Only the contents of the dialogues is known in fragments, as a papyrus from the 2nd or 3rd century contains a fragment that you impute Stilpons Metrokles. In addition to the eponymous Cynics Metrokles and a young rhetorician named Alkimos Stilpon occurs there even as a conversation partner. Metrokles views the project Stilpons to take the young Alkimos among his students, skeptical and asks if Alkimos for know what is good and what is bad. The papyrus breaks off, starts as Alkimos to enumerate individual bad things.

In ancient times Stilpon was the foremost for his mastery of Disputierkunst and dialectic (equivalent to today in about the scientific discipline logic ) are known. About Stilpons activity in this area is today, very little known. Plutarch has the view Stilpons narrated that one could " not one from another state " ( éteron etérou ME katēgoreísthai ). So one could not say " this man is good" nor " this man is commander " but only " man is man " and " commander 's commander. " According to Diogenes Laertius Stilpon repealed the general concepts ( EIDE). Who uses the general term " man " refers to anyone and thus nothing. When speaking of a certain person says the general term (such as " Socrates is a man " ), he identifies the particular people with the general concept. Also identified are any specific people, all of them if you each identified with the general concept.

In John Stobaeus a report from the Cynic Teles of Megara on ethical views can be found Stilpons. Stilpon advocated self-sufficiency and urged to seek control not by emotions. So banishment was not really a problem as they take a nothing important and a self-sufficient man is not dependent on friends. Similar positions were represented by other philosophical currents ( Cynics, Epicureans, Stoics, Pyrrhonians ) this time.

From the contemporary folk religion Stiplon seems to have distanced irony.

Reception

1774 published Christoph Martin Wieland in Teutschen Mercury dialogue Stilpon or about choosing a top guild master of Megara.

Portrait

It is recorded no inscriptions secured portrait of Stilpon. Karl Schefold held a near the island of Antikythera found bronze head, in which one occasionally saw one of the Cynic philosopher, for a presentation Stilpons. In the second edition of his book he held his head, however, for a possible portrait of Bion's Borysthenes and a marble statue of Delphi for a portrait Stilpons.

Quotes

" Omnia mea mecum porto " (Latin: Everything I have, I carry with me ). This is intended to Seneca Stilpon have said to Demetrius, the conqueror of Megara, as this appealed to him that he - unlike the other refugees from the plundered city - took nothing with him. This anecdote serves to illustrate the simplicity of Stilpon, rejection of material goods, but also and in particular its ideal of self / inner freedom. This quote wrote to the Bias of Priene in the rest of Cicero.

Source collections

• Klaus Döring: The Megarians. Annotated collection of testimonies, Green, Amsterdam 1971 ( Studies on ancient philosophy 2), ISBN 90-6032-003-4
• Gabriele Gianna Toni ( ed.): Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae, Volume 1, Bibliopolis, Naples, 1990, Section II -O ( online)
• Robert Muller: Les mégariques. Fragments et témoignages, Vrin, Paris 1985