The Affections of the Soul according to Aristotle, the Stoics and Galen: On Melancholy

Abstract

The present article is divided into two parts: the first focuses on the affections of the soul in general, while the second part investigates the case of melancholy, as it is studied from Aristotle and the Stoics to Galen. The main point of the first part is an analysis of the Chrysippean treatise On the Affections of the Soul as it appears in the Galenic treatise On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato. The analysis identifies several Chry­sippean influences from Plato and Aristotle regarding the psyche. In the second part, the case of melancholy is analyzed through the pseudo-Ar­istotelian treatise Problem XXX 1. The discussion shows the common points between the Aristotelian text and the Chrysippean fragments regarding the issue of melancholy. This article aims to bring to light the evolution of the phenomenon of melancholy in Galen’s thought, which is connected with the study of both medical and philosophical texts already existing before him.

Keywords

• affections
• illness
• humors
• symmetry
• soul
• melancholy