•  16
    Elements and Matter in Diogenes Laertius 7.137
    Classical Philology 118 (2): 273-281. 2023.
    A sentence in Book 7 of Diogenes Laertius’s Lives states that, according to the Stoics, the four elements are “unqualified substance, i.e. matter.” Scholars have noted that this appears to conflict with the Stoics’ distinction between principles and elements. Different solutions have been proposed, from dismissing the sentence entirely to emending the text. This note proposes a new interpretation according to which the standard reading of the text can be retained.
  •  616
    The Physics of Pneuma in Early Stoicism
    In Sean Coughlin, David Leith & Orly Lewis (eds.), The Concept of Pneuma after Aristotle, Edition Topoi. pp. 171-201. 2020.
    This chapter examines the ancient Stoic theory of the physical composition of pneuma, how its composition relates to pneuma’s many causal roles in Stoic philosophy, and to what extent each of the first three leaders of the Stoic school accepted the claim that pneuma pervades the cosmos. I argue that pneuma is a compound of fire and air. Furthermore, many functions of pneuma can be reduced to the functions of these elements. Finally, it is likely that each of the early Stoics posited a pervasive …Read more
  •  479
    The Physics of Stoic Cosmogony
    Apeiron 54 (2): 161-187. 2021.
    According to the ancient Greek Stoics, the cosmos regularly transitions between periods of conflagration, during which only fire exists, and periods of cosmic order, during which the four elements exist. This paper examines the cosmogonic process by which conflagrations are extinguished and cosmic orders are restored, and it defends three main conclusions. First, I argue that not all the conflagration’s fire is extinguished during the cosmogony, against recent arguments by Ricardo Salles. Second…Read more
  •  560
    On the Separability and Inseparability of the Stoic Principles
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 56 (2): 187-214. 2018.
    Sources for Stoicism present conflicting accounts of the Stoic principles. Some suggest that the principles are inseparable from each other. Others suggest that they are separable. To resolve this apparent interpretive dilemma, I distinguish between the functions of the principles and the bodies that realize those functions. Although the principles cannot separate when realizing their roles, the Stoic theory of blending entails that the bodies that realize those roles are physically separable. I…Read more
  •  52
    Chrysippus’s Elemental Theory
    Ancient Philosophy 37 (2): 361-385. 2017.