Hellenistic Philosophy Introductory

404 Glossary
nature (phusis): The meaning of the term is just as wide in Hellenistic thought
as it is in Greek philosophy generally. It can refer to nature in general, to the
specific nature of one object, or to one particular object or kind of object; it
might in places also be translated 'entity', as in the Epicurean definition of void
as an intangible nature.
no more (this than that) (ou mal/on): literally, no more. The slogan of the
Pyrrhonian sceptics, which means that things no more seem one way than the
opposite way.
non-evident (adelon): not subject to direct observation; unclear; unobservable.
non-[representational] image (apemphasis): Academic term for an impression
which is unconvincing or improbable.
opinion (doxa): a cognitive state distinct from a more rigorous form of cognition
(knowledge) which does not permit of falsity.
organization (diakosmesis): the basic, rational ordering of the cosmos.
outline [definition] (hupographe): a rough sketch of the meaning of a term,
which falls short of the precision of a true definition.
passion (pathos): in Stoic ethics, a vicious state or motion in the soul. The
four passions are pleasure, pain, fear, and desire.
perceive (percipere): sometimes used, esp. in Cicero, in the sense of a firm and
true perception, i.e., a grasp.
perfect (teleios): also, complete.
pneuma: generally, breath or wind, as it is translated in Epicurean texts. In
Stoic texts it is not translated, and designates a special material compound which
is fundamental to Stoic physics, being a breathlike compound of fire and air (or
the fiery and the airy). God, soul, and conditions (hexeis) are all forms of pneuma.
The specific substance of each thing is determined by its inborn pneuma.
predisposition (euemptosia): in Stoic ethics, a tendency to have a passion.
prefer: see judge.
preferred (proegmenon): In Stoicism, an indifferent thing (q.v.) which has value
for the life according to nature is said to be preferred.
presentation (phantasia): an intentional state of the soul, ultimately caused by
an external object or state of affairs, which by itselfindicates both itself and its cause.
principle (arche): the starting point for an argument or theory; may be a
definition, axiom, etc. In Stoic physics the two basic principles are god (active)
and prime matter (passive).
proposition (axioma): a statement with truth value. In Stoicism, an axioma is
a form of 'thing said' (q.v.).
providence (pronoia): in Stoicism, equivalent to the rational, causal order
of nature.
prudence (phronesis): the highest rational virtue; the flawless use of reason to
guide life and so produce happiness.
reason (logos): also, statement, argumentative procedure, argument, theory,
rational discourse, account, rational principle. Hence, 'which reason can contem-
plate' (logoi theoreton): not amenable to sense-perception; graspable only by the
reason or rational inference. Such things are not necessarily incorporeal, since