Critolaus facts for kids

Critolaus (born around 200 BC, died around 118 BC) was an important Greek philosopher from a place called Phaselis. He belonged to the Peripatetic school, which followed the ideas of Aristotle.

Critolaus was one of three famous philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC. The other two were Carneades and Diogenes of Babylon. Their ideas were very interesting to the people of Rome, but some of the older, more traditional leaders were worried about them. Critolaus was especially interested in how people speak well (called rhetoric) and how to live a good life (called ethics). He believed that pleasure was actually a bad thing. He also strongly believed, like Aristotle, that the world and all humans have always existed and will last forever.

Who Was Critolaus?

Critolaus was born in Phaselis, a Greek city in Lycia, around 200 BC. He went to Athens to study philosophy under a teacher named Aristo of Ceos. Critolaus became one of the main leaders of the Peripatetic school because he was a great speaker, a smart scholar, and a wise person.

Critolaus was so well-known in Athens that the Athenians chose him to go to Rome in 155 BC. He went with Carneades and Diogenes the Stoic. Their mission was to convince the Romans to reduce a large fine that Athens had to pay. They were successful in their mission!

Their visit caused a lot of excitement in Rome. Many young Romans, and even important leaders like Scipio Africanus, came to listen to them speak. However, some older Roman leaders, like Cato, felt that these new ideas were dangerous for the Roman people. Cato convinced the senate to send the philosophers away from Rome as quickly as possible. Critolaus lived to be over 82 years old and died around 118 BC.

Critolaus's Ideas

Critolaus spent a lot of time studying rhetoric, which is the art of speaking or writing effectively. He thought that rhetoric was more about practice than just a set of rules, similar to what Aristotle believed. People at the time, like Cicero, praised his excellent speaking skills.

Besides rhetoric, Critolaus focused a lot on moral philosophy, which is about how to live a good life. He mostly followed Aristotle's ideas, but he added some of his own. For example, he believed that pleasure was actually a bad thing. He also thought that the soul was made of a special, pure substance called aether. For Critolaus, the main goal of life was to achieve overall perfection in natural living. This included having good things for your mind, your body, and even things you own.

Critolaus also argued against another group of philosophers called the Stoics. He defended the Peripatetic idea that the world has always existed and will never be destroyed. He also believed that the human race would last forever. He argued that since there are no major changes in how nature works, humans will continue to create themselves in the same way, just as nature intended. Even though individuals get sick and die, this doesn't stop the human race as a whole from continuing. He thought it was impossible to imagine that humans could ever be completely destroyed. Since the world shows an eternal order, it must also be immortal.

See also

In Spanish: Critolao para niños