Knowledge is based on a combination of cognitive impressions and preconceptions. True propositions correspond to actual states of affair in the world but also constitute an internally consistent set of ideas (Long and Sedley, 1987, ss. 39-41; Everson, 1990, chapter 9; Algra et al., 1999, chapter 9).
Coming to know the good, therefore, involves both inference from perceptions and the formation of a preconception. But it is a process of a very special kind because "good" represents both the highest kind of value and one that is applicable in widely different contexts. Stoics lay special stress on the role of analogy in enabling us to recognize connections between the forms of goodness found in these different contexts.
Virtue - what we might call "ethical" or "moral" goodness - is one aspect of this notion. The recognition of our own developing virtue (if we develop as we should) and that of other people constitutes an important dimension of the process of coming to know the good. But Stoics emphasize that what we are recognizing is not just a moral notion (human virtue) but is one aspect of a broader concept. The salient marks of goodness are order, structure, harmony, and rationality. The development of virtue involves recognizing virtue as something good - that is, as manifesting order and rationality. But goodness also exists elsewhere, above all, in the universe, understood as an ordered and rational structure. Structure and rationality also, necessarily, confer "benefit," which is another of the salient marks of goodness. So coming to know the good, in the fullest sense of the word, is a matter of understanding how goodness manifests itself in these various sectors (which can be summed up as the spheres of ethics, physics, and logic) and also a matter of expressing this in your own life and character (Long and Sedley, 1987, ss. 60; cf. leradiakonou, 1999, chapter 3).
Interpreting Stoic ideas about the relationship between ethical goodness and goodness in other contexts (in particular, in the universe as a whole) is a difficult matter. (For contrasting interpretations see Annas, 1993, chapter 5; Striker, 1996, chapter 12, especially pp. 221-31.) But there is no doubt that wisdom, the Stoic ideal state, includes knowledge of goodness in all these areas and of their interconnection. The goodness of the universe is displayed in the visible order and harmony of the heavenly bodies and in the regular cycles of day and night and of the seasons. It is also manifested in the way that each species is naturally adapted (in its physical and psychological capacities) to function as a unified organism and to do so within the world, which itself functions as a coherent system. These manifestations of organic system and coherence are taken as evidence of divine providence - an aspect of Stoic thought that is strongly influenced by Plato's vision of the world in the Timaeus. But, unlike Plato's craftsman god, who is distinct from the world he creates, the Stoic god is an immanent force, at once a physical entity ("designing fire") and the active cause, a principle of order and rationality working within nature (Long and Sedley, 1987, s. 54, based especially on Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, Book 2; also Long and Sedley, 1987, ss. 44, 46). Hence, recognizing the divinity of the world (its immanent structure and coherence) is another key aspect of coming to know the good (cf. Rousseau, 1979, pp. 313-14ff).
A related subject is Stoic thinking on determinism and agency, which involves recognizing in a different way the goodness of the universe. The Stoics are usually seen as "compatibilists," who try to reconcile universal causal determinism with the idea that human beings are responsible for their actions. This reconciliation is
brought about, in part, by explaining human (and other) actions by reference to two kinds of cause: internal and external causes. The fact that (adult) human actions depend on a specific kind of internal cause (namely, assent to a rational impression) entitles us to hold human beings responsible for the actions that result from this
assent. (This kind of compatibilism does not involve the idea of "indeterminist" freedom of choice, an idea that was developed in Epicurean theories.) But there is a different, and arguably more profound, way of understanding Stoic compatibilism.
Universal causal determinism (the "seamless web" of causes) and adult human rationality are both manifestations of the order, rationality, and goodness that are fundamental to nature, as the Stoics understand this (Bobzien, 1998; also Long and Sedley, 1987, ss. 55, 62). This point helps to explain why accepting the fated outcome of events (even in cases where this seems, on the face of it, strongly disadvantageous to us as individuals or to our community or humankind) is seen as a key mark of a virtuous attitude or character. In doing so, we recognize that the universe, in the relevant respects, is good (despite apparent indications to the contrary) and we are thus expressing (at least some measure of) goodness in ourselves. This topic is another
that exemplifies the importance of integrating physics, ethics, and logic, since the proper understanding of determinism embraces aspects of all three studies.
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