Panaetius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Panaetius
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Panaetius, shown as a medieval scholar in the Nuremberg Chronicle
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| Born | 185/180 BC |
| Died | 110/109 BC |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Stoicism |
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Main interests
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Ethics |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Panaetius (/pəˈniːʃiəs/; Greek: Παναίτιος, translit. Panaítios; c. 185 – c. 110/109 BC) was an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher from Rhodes. He studied in Athens with important teachers like Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus. Later, he moved to Rome and helped introduce Stoic ideas there. This was possible because of the support from Scipio Aemilianus, a powerful Roman general.
After Scipio died in 129 BC, Panaetius went back to Athens. He became the leader of the Stoic school, which was a famous group of philosophers. Panaetius made Stoicism more open to different ideas. His most famous book was On Duties. This book was a main source for the Roman writer Cicero when he wrote his own book with the same name.
Contents
Life of Panaetius
Panaetius was born in Rhodes around 185–180 BC. His family was old and well-known on the island. He first studied with a language expert named Crates of Mallus. Later, he moved to Athens and learned from different philosophers. He mainly followed the Stoic teachers Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus.
Some people thought Panaetius was a priest of the god Poseidon. But this honor was actually given to his grandfather, who also had the name Panaetius.
Travels and Roman Friends
Panaetius likely met Scipio Aemilianus through Gaius Laelius. Scipio was a very important Roman general and politician. Panaetius became good friends with Scipio, just like the historian Polybius had before him.
In 139–138 BC, Panaetius and Polybius traveled with Scipio on a Roman trip. They visited many kings and cities in the Greek-speaking eastern lands. Panaetius also became part of the "Scipionic Circle." This was a group of smart and influential people who gathered around Scipio in Rome.
Return to Athens
Panaetius went back to Rome with Scipio. There, he played a big part in bringing Stoic ideas and Greek philosophy to the city. Many important Romans became his students.
After Scipio died in 129 BC, Panaetius spent time in both Athens and Rome. But he mostly lived in Athens. He took over as the head of the Stoic school after Antipater of Tarsus. The people of Athens offered him citizenship, but he turned it down. His most important student was Posidonius. Panaetius died in Athens around 110/09 BC.
Panaetius's Philosophy
Panaetius brought a new, more varied way of thinking to Stoicism. This made his ideas seem a bit like those of the Platonists, another group of philosophers. He believed that understanding the natural world (Physics) was the most important part of philosophy, not logic. He didn't seem to write much new about logic.
New Stoic Ideas
In his ideas about the natural world, Panaetius disagreed with some older Stoic beliefs. For example, he didn't believe the universe would burn up and restart (a concept called ekpyrosis). He also tried to make the different parts of the soul simpler to understand. He even doubted if telling the future (divination) was real.
In Ethics, which is about how to live a good life, Panaetius said there were only two main types of goodness: thinking well and acting well. This was different from Aristotle's ideas.
Panaetius wanted to connect the main goal of life more closely to natural human feelings. He also showed how different good qualities are linked together. He argued that being good wasn't enough if you didn't also have a decent life and good health. He believed that recognizing what is morally right, and wanting to do it for its own sake, was a key idea in the speeches of the famous speaker Demosthenes.
Panaetius also rejected the Stoic idea of apatheia, which meant being free from all strong emotions. Instead, he thought that some pleasant feelings were natural and good. He also believed that rules for living a moral life should be simple enough for anyone to follow, even if they weren't yet fully wise.
Panaetius's Writings
On Duties
Panaetius's most important book was definitely On Duties (in Greek, Peri tou Kathēkontos). It had three parts. In this book, he wanted to explore:
- What is morally right or wrong.
- What is useful or not useful.
- How to decide when what is moral seems to conflict with what is useful. As a Stoic, he believed this conflict was only an appearance, not real.
Panaetius had promised to write about the third part at the end of his book, but he never finished it. His student Posidonius tried to complete it, but not perfectly. The Roman writer Cicero wrote his own famous book, also called On Duties, by closely following Panaetius's work. Cicero said that for the third part, he didn't follow Posidonius. Instead, he finished what Panaetius had left undone, all by himself.
Cicero mostly used Panaetius's ideas for the first two parts of his book without many changes. Cicero was drawn to Panaetius's work because it didn't just talk about difficult theories. It showed how moral philosophy could be used in everyday life. Panaetius made the strict ideas of earlier Stoics softer. He kept their main points but changed them so they could be used to guide how people live. He also wrote about them in a clear and powerful way.
We know that Cicero didn't include everything from Panaetius's three books. There's a small part of Panaetius's work that was saved by another writer, Aulus Gellius. This part talks about the speaking style of Panaetius's subject, which isn't found in Cicero's book.
Other Works
Panaetius also wrote other books. These included works On Cheerfulness, On the Magistrates (about government officials), On Providence (about fate), and On Divination (about telling the future). He also wrote a political book that Cicero used in his own work, De Republica. There was also a letter he wrote to Quintus Aelius Tubero.
His book On Philosophical Schools seems to have been full of facts and critical thoughts. Many things we know about Socrates, and about the books of Plato and other Socratic thinkers, come from Panaetius's authority. These details were probably taken from that book.
See also
In Spanish: Panecio de Rodas para niños
