Abstract

The early Stoics attempt to construct a new cosmological model to account for both the origin of the cosmos as a whole and how the particulars in it come into being and perish. To make this macrocosmmicrocosm model work in a continuous and unified way, they introduce a mixture of fire and air, which is called pneuma, using it as the basic principle to explain the nature of all creatures in the world and their movements. According to the early Stoics, pneuma is a kind of material body consisted of two elements whose endless extension and contraction cause the alteration and movement of everything in the world. On the other hand, pneuma penetrates all the creatures through and through when still remaining to keep its own active nature so that it determines the nature of other beings. It is in this sense that pneuma holds the whole cosmos as a continuous unity. Unfortunately, this account of pneuma has been attacked by many other philosophers on the reason that there is an inconsistency in its definition, which would inevitably lead to some fatal contradictions. One of the most serious criticism is focused on the question of how it is possible for the pneuma to penetrate the other body and occupy the same space at the same time should it be a body. This paper is aimed to show that the so-called inconsistency is merely an apparent one and the Stoic account of pneuma can be defended by adopting a line of interpretation which combines the principle of mixture with a model concerning the periodical generation and destruction of the cosmos.

Key Words

The early Stoics; Pneuma; Cosmos; Elements; Mixture

Citation: Chen, W. 'The Early Stoic Concept of Pneuma and Its Role in the Cosmological Model' [J]. Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 2018, 40(7): 115-121.

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