Studies on Philodemus’ On Signs

no comprehensive volume of scholarly studies has ever been devoted entirely to De signis, a work of considerable importance by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus of Gadara (1st century BCE) that has been partially preserved in the Herculaneum library (PHerc. 1065). The present collection of essays seeks, insofar as possible, to fill this gap, which undoubtedly represents a significant shortcoming in the field of Classics and beyond. De signis is one of the most important texts for reconstructing the Hellenistic debate between Epicureans and Stoics concerning inference from signs. Yet, De signis is much more than that: it is a document of exceptional importance for the reconstruction of the history of Epicureanism and its doctrinal developments, and above all, for a detailed understanding of crucial aspects of both Epicurean and Stoic epistemology and theories of language.