Methodological information and historical background: The book focuses on problems of determinism and freedom as they were conceived in antiquity, this being a necessary condition for a full understanding of the Stoic theory. The Stoic theory of determinism and freedom is central to their philosophy as a whole. The history of works on fate, determinism, and freedom from Plato to the end of antiquity is sketched. The difficulty of the fragmentary state of our sources and the lack of first-hand sources, the inadequacy of von Arnim's collection of Stoic fragments on fate, and the limits of the present book are discussed.
Keywords: ancient philosophy, determinism, freedom, Plato, Stoicism, von Arnim