Posidonius of Apamea · Philosophy

The Passions against Chrysippus

Against the founding Stoic doctrine that emotions are simply mistaken judgments, Posidonius argued that the soul has genuinely irrational powers - so that curing the passions takes more than correcting beliefs. To make the case he reached back three centuries to Plato’s divided soul.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that orthodox Stoicism (Chrysippus) held the passions to be judgments of reason, curable by correcting the belief; Posidonius answered that the soul has irrational, affective powers - reviving Plato’s divided soul - so that therapy must train those powers, not just refute false beliefs. Explain the d…

Leads to Plato.

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