What is wrong with lekta? Ancient critics of Stoic logic and language

Abstract

In this paper, the Stoic theory of lekta is presented from the point of view of three main critical responses: the Peripatetics, Sextus Empiricus and an internal challenge posed by Seneca. The critiques focus on questions about language, but the detailed examination of the attacks reveals that the heart of the problem is the rejection of Stoic ontology, constituted by lekta. The aim of the paper is to show how, from the different responses, which go from dismissing to belittling the relevance of the Stoic theory of lekta, the critics reaffirm the validity of their own views through misrepresenting that of the Stoics. They also thus reveal despite themselves the seriousness of the Stoic theory and the threat it in fact poses to their views: threats to the control humans are considered to have over the grammar and practices of their languages, and threats to a straightforward separation between logic and ethics.

Keywords

• stoicism
• lekta
• Peripatetics
• Sextus Empiricus
• language
• ontology