Online research in philosophy

H. Richard Niebuhr makes a bold but as yet little analyzed appeal to the Stoics in "The Responsible Self", the roots of which are present in earlier works. Stoicism, especially in Ciceronian dress, is the source of his doctrine of the fitting and "cathēkontic ethics." Niebuhr's appeal to the Stoics is grounded in the belief that their theory is more adequate to the complexities of the human self than are some alternative philosophical models. Yet he is not a Stoic. His commitment is to such truth as the Stoics also see rather than to the Stoics as a movement.

The problem addressed is that of finding a sound characterization of ambiguity. Two kinds of characterizations are distinguished: tests and definitions. Various definitions of ambiguity are critically examined and contrasted with definitions of generality and indeterminacy, concepts with which ambiguity is sometimes confused. One definition of ambiguity is defended as being more theoretically adequate than others which have been suggested by both philosophers and linguists. It is also shown how this definition of ambiguity obviates a problem thought to be posed by ambiguity for truth theoretical semantics. In addition, the best known test for ambiguity, namely the test by contradiction, is set out, its limitations discussed, and its connection with ambiguity's definition explained. The test is contrasted with a test for vagueness first proposed by Peirce and a test for generality propounded by Margalit.

... [Aarwv (On Fallacies due to Language) is an introductory text presumably designed for beginners in logic. Stoics would call it a treatise on dialectic, ...

Among those in question, Aristotle 6 and the Peripatetics, the Stoics and also the Epicureans,7 were the main opponents 8 to For a good account of the ...

Stoic work on ambiguity represents one of the most innovative, sophisticated, and rigorous contributions to philosophy and the study of language in western antiquity. This book is both the first comprehensive survey of the often difficult and scattered sources, and the first attempt to locate Stoic material in the rich array of contexts, ancient and modern, which alone can guarantee full appreciation of its subtlety, scope and complexity. The comparisons and contrasts which this book constructs will intrigue not just classical scholars, and philosophers, but also logicians, theoretical linguists, communication theorists and historians of grammar and of literary theory. The Stoics on Ambiguity is designed to be intelligible to readers with no Greek or Latin.