O desinteresse estético é um dos conceitos centrais da estética, e Jerome Stolnitz, o mais proeminente teórico do desinteresse no século XX, afirmou que (i) o envolvimento dos pensadores antigos com esta noção era superficial e pouco desenvolvido e, consequentemente, (ii) a emergência do desinteresse no século XVIII marca o nascimento da estética como disciplina. Neste artigo, pretendo usar os trabalhos existentes de Epicuro para mostrar que o filósofo antigo não apenas tinha conceitos similares, como  também os usava de maneiras cuidadosas e complexas. Eu argumento que, no enquadramento teórico de Epicuro, as artes pertenciam a categoria dos desejos "meramente naturais", e esta classificação, combinada com aquilo que sabemos da rejeição de Epicuro da crítica da arte, mostra que ele tinha desenvolvido cuidadosamente razões que fundamentavam a ideia de que a arte deveria ser abordada terminalmente, ao invés de instrumentalmente. Por fim, eu comparo a noção de desinteresse estético com as visões de Epicuro acerca da arte e argumento que de muitas maneiras a última não é inferior a primeira, e que, portanto, deve pertencer a história da estética.

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The monograph aims to show that the Stoa, an ancient Greek philosophical school, made a substantial line of enquiry into the nature of aesthetic properties, and thus there are good reasons to analyse and discuss the sub-field of the Stoic thought that could be called ‘Stoic aesthetics.’ This study of Stoic views on beauty begins with the question of indifferents and the challenge it poses for aesthetics. The controversial Stoic theory of values states that ‘beauty’ is one of the so-called indifferents, that is, the things that do not contribute to human happiness and therefore ought not to be treated as the good. It is argued that a thorough reading of the material shows that beauty is not treated as irrelevant in general; the evidence only shows that beauty is an inferior value to virtue. This leaves the possibility of theorising aesthetic objects. This leads to a systematic interpretation of Stoic aesthetics by looking at other pieces of extant evidence where beauty is mentioned, including the argument ‘that only the beautiful is the good’, theological arguments, the claim that only the wise man is beautiful and the Stoic definition of beauty as summetria. The latter, it is argued, is a succinct formulation of the idea that beauty is a function composition, and this idea has emerged in the previous discussions of various arguments involving aesthetic terms. The monograph ends with a discussion of the Stoic views in ancient Greek philosophical context.

The Stoic definition of beauty and the way in which beauty vocabulary is used in various arguments are remarkably consistent. This coherence suggests that the Stoic engagement with this area of philosophy must have been thorough and substantial. The chapter also presents a discussion of various prominent beauty theories in antiquity and compares them with the Stoic views. The figures discussed include Polycleitus, Vitruvius, Philolaus of Croton, Plato, Aristotle. The comparisons show that the Stoic definition of beauty as summetria was a distinct theory that accounted for aesthetic properties in reductive terms, that is, as a functional structure. It rivalled the Platonic accounts in which Forms played the central role. Plotinus’ attack on Stoicism shows that this rivalry lasted for a long time, and that while Platonism dominated the philosophical scene in late antiquity, Stoic views survived in other contexts. An analysis of the account of beauty found in the medical writings of Galen is used to support this claim.

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