Stoic utopy or Socratic Reason: ciceronian virtus in the paradoxa stoicorum

Abstract

The Paradoxa Stoicorum (The paradoxes of the stoics), show the reflections of Cicero with regards to a series of stoic principles, with a high Socratic influence. The Ciceronian virtus (virtue), moves away from the stoic utopia of the need to achieve the supreme virtue, in order to reach the supreme good, putting forward the idea, that perfect wisdom is inaccessible to humans, so that they can only try to approach it through reason, using opinions, speculations and understanding. A rejection of stoic dogmatism, that Cicero manages with incredible skill in his works.

Keywords

• Cicerón
• filosofía romana
• estoicismo
• sociedad romana
• Paradoxa Stoicorum II