Lekta & the Dialectic Essays -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Lekta & the Dialectic The scope of Stoic logic encompasses various aspects of their philosophy and serves as the primary method through which the rest of their opinions about the world are shaped. Stoic logic is easily divisible into two realms, the realm of the dialectic, and that of rhetoric. Rhetoric, with all its breadth and superfluity, seems less valuable to Stoic logic than the more simplistic dialectic. For the Stoics, the wise man is always the dialectician, for the dialectic distinguishes the true from the false with brevity and completeness. One of the most interesting aspects of Stoic logic, the concept of sayables or lekta pertains to this dialectic. There are numerous characteristics and conditions of sayables which ultimately reveal a great deal about the whole of Stoic philosophy and pose interesting questions about the continuity of their theory. Distinct from speech, sound, voices and utterances, lekta possess qualities which distinguish them from other aspects of communication and thought. At its most simple form, absent of various other conditions, a lekton is simply a piece of language that articulates a state of affairs, carries a truth value, and â€Å"subsists in accordance with a rational impression† (LS 196). Now, while lekta cannot be simply termed as speech or ideas, they are linked in a special sense with both speech and a concept to form an opinion. â€Å"†¦three things are linked together, ‘the signification’, ‘the signifier’, and ‘the name-bearer’. The signifier is an utterance, for instance ‘Dion’; the signification is the actual state of affairs revealed by an utterance, and which we apprehend as it subsists in accordance with our thought†¦ the name-bearer is the external object, for instance, Dion ... ...olded various lekta to create their propositions, forming questions which could be universally comprehended and evaluated. Without lekta, the dialectic could not have existed. The Stoic lekta, which I believe to be a corporeal part in the Stoic hierarchy of ‘somethings,’ provide a means through which logicians and philosophers could engage in the dialectic which developed various truths which we read about today. Whether lekta are a body or not, it remains that their strong independence and resilience as somethings can be used as a means to the end of scientific truth. Engaging in rational debate with propositions filled with subjects and predicates was the cornerstone of Stoic philosophy. Without logic, and the sayables which pieced together their dialectic, the Stoics would have been unable to provide perspective on those truths which have persisted through time.