St. George Stock (modern guide) · 1850–1922
A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶8 — St. George Stock (modern guide)
From “Logic”
Original English text (1908)
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶8
The criterion of truth then was no other than the gripping phantasy. Such at least was the doctrine of the earlier Stoics, but the later added a saving clause, "when there is no impediment." For they were pressed by their opponents with such imaginary cases as that of Admetus, seeing his wife before him in very deed, and yet not believing it to be her. But here there was an impediment. Admetus did not believe that the dead could rise. Again Menelaus did not believe in the real Helen when he found her on the island of Pharos. But here again there was an impediment. For Menelaus could not have been expected to know that he had been for ten years fighting for a phantom. When, however, there was no such impediment, then they said the gripping phantasy did indeed deserve its name, for it almost took men by the hair of the head and dragged them to assent.
Cite this passage
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶8 (1908)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/a-guide-to-stoicism/3.8
St. George Stock, Stoicism (1908), text of the Haldeman-Julius reprint “A Guide to Stoicism”. Text: Project Gutenberg #7514. Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe gripping impression was the test of truth, though later Stoics added the proviso that nothing must stand in the way. Puzzle cases, such as a man who cannot believe his dead wife is truly before him, are explained by a mental obstacle that blocks the normal pull towards belief.
Older wording
- “criterion of truth”
- — the test for telling what is true
- “gripping phantasy”
- — an impression so clear it compels belief
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
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