Oikeiosis and the Natural Basis of Morality

From Classical Stoicism to Modern Philosophy. Edited by Alejandro G. Vigo.

Twelve articles (two of them in Spanish) address the possibilities and reception of the stoic doctrine of oikeiosis. The articles contribute to the discussion concerning the theoretical possibilities offered by the explanatory model developed by the Stoics, highlighting, at the same time, its notable productivity, as this was made manifest in the long and complex process of reception and reworking which culminated in Modernity. The strong influence of Stoicism on the ethical, juridical and political thought of Modernity is a well known fact. Within the framework of Stoic naturalism, the doctrine of oikeiosis plays a key role, combining two different approaches: on the one hand, that which attends to the natural constitution of the living being, its basic vital impulses and its most elemental perceptive and cognitive capacities; on the other, that which emphasizes the specific explanation of animal behavior, in the first place, and of human behavior, in the second, also from the point of view of that which must count as "good", and not just in a purely biological or vital sense, but also, in the case of the human being, in a specifically moral one. 382 Seiten, broschiert (Reason and Normativity. A Series on Practical Reason, Morality, and Natural Law; Vol. 4/Olms Verlag 2012)