The Stoic Creed - College of Stoic Philosophers

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40 THE STOIC CREED
human and divine : it must rise from TT to 0, and
determine the principle of union between the two. That
is the first step in the definition.
Leading Characteristics
But now, if there is a principle
of union to be deter
mined, that means :
(i) That philosophy is the unifying
science : it is the effort of the mind to reach the rational
interpretation of the 1
universe, by viewing
the parts in_
the light of the whole and grasping the underlying
principle. Consequently, it must deal with the deepest
problems of human life those connected with God or
the Absolute ;
with Self, the Ego, or the Soul and
;
with the World or Nature.
(2) Hence, it rises beyond
the mere study of isolated
occurrences or existences in
their fragmentary aspects and the formulating of their
laws,
in other words, beyond the mere scientific study
of them, and seeks to determine their reason or their
why. as Aristotle puts it (Met. v. i), Philosophy is
the knowledge of things by their causes." (3) Never
theless, it presupposes that knowledge of existences
in their laws and modes of existence has first been
obtained. The secondary unities of knowledge must
be established before the great all - comprehending
unity can be reached.
Whence it follows that there is no real opposition
between philosophy and science, not even between
philosophy and the physical sciences. For, though
the procedure of physical science is analytic, it is not
that alone. All analysis leads up to synthesis and
;
every one of the physical sciences aims at unifying its
material. Indeed, the material itself, when brought