CHRYSIPPUS OF SOLOS: BIOGRAPHY, THOUGHTS, PHRASES, WORKS, DEATH - ARTE - 2025

Chrysippus of Solos (279 BC - 206 BC) was a Greek philosopher known as the second founder of Stoicism, and as one of the most influential figures in the Hellenistic period. Today he is credited with approximately 750 written works and ranks as one of the first to organize logic as an intellectual discipline.

He was originally from the ancient city of Solos, Cilicia, although during his youth he moved to Athens to carry out his studies. He thus became a pupil of Cleantes de Assos within the Stoic school.

Portrait of Chrysippus from Solos. Sting

After the death of his teacher, Chrysippus became one of the heads of the Stoic school. As a great writer he was in charge of the expansion of the doctrines of Zeno de Citio (founder of the Stoic school) and it is for this fact that he receives the title of second founder of Stoicism.

Stoicism is a philosophical discipline that seeks happiness and the development of wisdom, leaving aside material goods, comforts and fortune.

It also establishes some norms or attitudes that must be adopted, related to morality, strength and rectitude of character. Its objective was to achieve the imperturbability and the degree of independence of the human being before the outside world.

Biography

Chrysippus was born in Solos, Cilicia. He was described as a short man, it is also presumed that he was a long distance runner. During his youth, his inherited properties were confiscated, which became the king's treasure.

Upon moving to Athens, he began to form part of the Stoic school in which he stood out for his intellect, for his character of extreme self-confidence and his arrogance. He studied together with Arcesilao and Lácides de Cirene, two great figures who led the Academy of Athens. From the beginning, Chrysippus was interested in the elaboration of philosophical arguments.

Around the years 230 a. C. became successor of the direction of the Stoic school, time in which he questioned many of the principles of Stoicism. During this time he undertook to formalize the Stoic doctrines.

Together with the work of Zeno, founder of the Stoic school, he made a compilation that would become the fundamental basis of the discipline. He also implemented a formal system of logic in which the Stoics took hold. Thanks to these actions, he was recognized as the second founder of Stoicism.

Most of his time as a student and head of the Stoic school was devoted to writing. It is said that he never wrote less than 500 lines a day. His way of writing was described as broad or extensive, since he chose to develop both sides of an argument rather than make his own statement.

The result of his writing was often overshadowed by some statements and criticisms made of his work. Large portions of his writing were said to lack originality and to have no established order. However, he was always a great symbol of authority within the school.

Plays

At present there is no record of the survival of his written works. Everything that is known about his studies and contributions to philosophy comes from different quotes made by other great figures such as Cicero, Plutarch or Seneca.

Despite this, fragments of his work have been discovered in the Villa of the Papyri, an ancient Roman library found under the ashes of the ruins of the city of Herculaneum, which was buried after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The thought of Chrysippus

The written evidence of Chrysippus' works is really scarce and mostly fragmented. However, through the mentions of his ideas made by other later philosophers, part of his thought and philosophy has been glimpsed.

Many of the fragments of Chrysippus' work have been found in the ruins of the ancient city of Herculaneum

Image by Allan Lee from Pixabay

Chrysippus appeared as an outstanding writer with great command in the areas related to logic, the theory of knowledge, ethics and the physical.

Logic

Within logic he created the propositional system which had the purpose of providing a better understanding of the functioning of the universe. Propositional logic is based on the reasoning of simple and compound sentences, the latter, formed by connectors such as "and" or "or".

On the one hand, simple propositions are usually sentences with the ability to be true or false. Then, compound propositions are those that bring together two or more simple propositions.

A simple proposition can be the phrase "nothing lasts forever." In contrast, a compound proposition may resemble the sentence "I can sleep or stay up all night", in which two sentences are connected by "or".

Much of Chrysippus' work within logic was aimed at refuting fallacies or paradoxes.

Theory of knowledge

In relation to the theory of knowledge, Chrysippus relied on experience, the empirical. He believed in the transmission of messages from the external world through the human being's own senses.

He adopted the idea of ​​Zeno who had established that the senses generate an impression on the soul and in this way Chrysippus qualifies the senses as the way in which the soul receives a modification from external objects.

The impression on the Soul then allows an understanding by which it will be possible for man to name the external object with which he interacts.

In the physical

Chrysippus supported the idea of ​​interdependence and relationship between all parts of the universe. Following Zeno, he asserted that the universe is composed of a primitive substance known as "ether." He also spoke of the soul as the element that shapes matter.

On the other hand, Chrysippus divides the human soul into eight properties: the first five are associated with the senses, the sixth has to do with the ability to reproduce, the seventh with the power of speech and the eighth figure as the governing part, located on the chest.

Maths

Within mathematics, Chrysippus argued his concept of the infinite divisibility of the universe. Bodies, lines, places and even time are elements capable of being infinitely divided.

Like many of the Stoics, Chrysippus was deterministic, that is, he trusted that all things in life are predetermined and that they respond to multiple phenomena that are beyond human control. It also established itself in personal freedom and the relevance of the development of knowledge and understanding of the world for each person.

Ethics

Chrysippus relates ethics to the physical. It gave a relevant character to the fact of living according to the real course of nature. It defines the human as a being similar to the divine whose nature is ethical and speaks of humanity as the embodiment of reason.

It also refers to the freedom of the human being as the state in which it is separated from material goods and irrational desires such as domination and lust. Courage, dignity and will are the benefits that the philosopher most emphasized in this regard.

Phrases and quotes

As mentioned above, Chrysippus's work is contained in the multiple references that other authors have made about his work. Some of the best known are:

- "The universe is God in himself and the universal flow of his soul" Cicero.

- "If I followed the crowd, I shouldn't have studied philosophy" Laercio Diógenes.

- «Wise people don't want anything and yet they need many things. On the other hand, fools need nothing because they don't understand how to use anything, but they need everything »Seneca.

- «He who runs a race must exert his ability to the maximum to be victorious; but it is completely wrong for him, to trip another competitor. Therefore, in life it is not unfair to look for what is beneficial on your own; but it is not correct to take it from another. » Cicero.

- “We should infer in the case that it is a beautiful dwelling that was built for its owners and not for mice; we must, therefore, in the same way, regard the universe as the abode of the gods. " Cicero.

- «If I knew that my destiny is to be ill, I would even wish it; because the foot, if it had intelligence, would also volunteer to get muddy. " Epictetus.

Death of Chrysippus

One of the most striking events in the life of this philosopher was his death, which is said to have been caused by his laughter. Chrysippus died in 206 BC. C. at 73 years of age, during the Olympics number 143 that took place between 208 a. C. and 204 BC

There are several anecdotes of his death. One tells that during a festive night, Chrysippus decides to get a donkey drunk after seeing him eat some figs. Her admiration for such an unusual situation caused so much grace that she died as a result of her laughter. This is where the expression "dying of laughter" comes from, attributed to this story about Chrysippus.

Another version of events tells that he was found with terrible dizziness after drinking undiluted wine and died a while later.

References

1. Chrysippus of Soli. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org
2. Who is Chrysippus? The 'Second Founder of Stoicism' who died laughing. Daily Stoic. Recovered from daylistoic.com
3. Propositional Logical. EcuRed. Recovered from ecured.cu
4. Chrysippus de Solos, the Greek philosopher whose all has been lost. Anfrix. Recovered from anfrix.com
5. (2015) The curious death of Chrysippus of Soli. Quirkality. Recovered from quirkality.com
6. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2017). Chrysippus. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com
7. Phrases of Chrysippus from Solos. Famous quotes. Recovered from dating.in