On the Reality of Lekta
This chapter focuses on the lekton as an independent item in ontology. It analyses the role of lekta in ordinary language, questioning the claim that lekta are separated from language. Platonic separation is distinguished from the status granted to lekta against a background of polemics and wilful simplifications from ancient critics. The place in ontology of lekta is further sharpened in a comparison with modern speech act theory, to conclude that the Stoics conceive of context and content (even for actors on a stage) in terms of ontological structure, not linguistic production. This hinders an assimilation of the Stoics to the moderns, not necessarily to the detriment of the Stoics, whose position is defended as a competing rather than an underdeveloped theory. The Stoics are shown to propose a radically different ontological framework from their rivals and predecessors. The critiques of the Peripatetics are revelatory rather than damning, their efforts at straitjacketing the Stoics laying bare fundamental incompatibilities. In comparison with the Epicureans, the status of incorporeality is fine-tuned as the differences between Epicurus’ only incorporeal, the void, and the Stoics’ four incorporeals are put in focus. Lucretius’ contribution to the debate, as also the suggestion—ultimately dismissed—of adding limits to the Stoic list of incorporeals, leads to the conclusion that lekta are foundational elements of Stoic ontology.