Logic of Divination on the Evidence of De divinatione by Cicero

This paper demonstrates the logical basis of the philosophic opinions of the Stoics and New Academy on divination; it focuses on the essence and needs assessment of divination phenomenon in general. Cicero’s treatise has been studied for the following reasons: it provides valuable information not only about the ancient practice of divination but also the Stoic divination theory. The paper discusses both the arguments that back up divination practice and the counter arguments based on the logical ground. Though the popular arguments supporting divination are hardly convincing and in Cicero’s opinion have no logical proof, divination remains to be a very popular phenomenon. It is noteworthy that in his discourse Cicero concentrates on the scheme suggested by the Stoics: if x… then y. According to him there is a conflict between these propositions (x and y), where the first proposition is not a true conditional and thus could not be the basis for the following conclusions. Thus, the opinions of Cicero and the Stoics clash over the issues of logic which lead to the differences in argumentation.