The Stoic doctrine of eternal recurrence: Its development and characteristics

This thesis discusses the doctrine of eternal recurrence in ancient Stoic philosophy using historical, logical, and philological analysis. The thesis examines what kind of doctrine eternal recurrence is, how it differed from similar views held by other ancient schools, and how it related to other features of the Stoic system of philosophy. Eternal recurrence is presented as an integrated hellenized version of mythological, religious, and scientific ideas imported from Mesopotamia by migration, trade, and military contact, as well as by the peregrinations of early Greek polymath sages. By studying the pervasive influence of the motif of cyclical thinking among the ancient Greeks, and comparing early scientific theories about matter, space, and time, it becomes possible to understand a number of physical and ethical doctrines of the Stoa which do not at first reading seem related. Eternal recurrence turns out to be a kind of unified field theory, which reconciles disparate elements of the Stoic system, and substantiates the systematic unity the Stoic school claimed its doctrines exhibited.