An extreme form of skepticism, associated with Pyrrho of Elis (c.365-275 BC) and developed by his followers, notably Aenesidemus (1st century BC) and Sextus Empiricus (2nd century AD). Pyrrhonism’s distinguishing feature lay in its application of scepticism to itself: not only could we not know anything, but we could not even know that we could not know anything.
Unlike the ‘dogmatic’ sceptics of the Academy, therefore (who did claim to know this last fact), Pyrrho advocated complete suspension of judgment and hoped to obtain a tranquil peace of mind thereby – an outlook with echoes in the philosophy of David Hume (1711-1776).
Pyrrho wrote nothing (not surprisingly), but fortunately for our historical knowledge his followers did. ‘Pyrrhonism’ is occasionally used loosely for skepticism in general.
Source:
A A Long and D N Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers (1987); translations with commentary
Table of Contents
- 1 Videos
- 2 Related Products
- 2.1 Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Great Books in Philosophy)
- 2.2 Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia
- 2.3 Pyrrhonism: How the Ancient Greeks Reinvented Buddhism (Studies in Comparative Philosophy and Religion)
- 2.4 Sextus Empiricus: Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Loeb Classical Library No. 273)
- 2.5 Stoic Six Pack 4 - The Sceptics: Pyyrhonic Sketches, Life of Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus, The Greek Sceptics, Stoics & Sceptics and Life of Carneades (Illustrated)
- 2.6 The Skeptic Way: Sextus Empiricus's Outlines of Pyrrhonism
- 2.7 Pyrrhonism
- 2.8 The Greek Sceptics: From Pyrrho to Sextus
- 2.9 Pyrrhonism
- 2.10 Timon of Phlius: Pyrrhonism into Poetry (Untersuchungen zur Antiken Literatur und Geschichte)
Videos
Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Great Books in Philosophy)
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Empiricus, Sextus (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 05/01/1990 (Publication Date) - Prometheus (Publisher)
Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Beckwith, Christopher I. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 294 Pages - 06/09/2015 (Publication Date) - Princeton University Press (Publisher)
Pyrrhonism: How the Ancient Greeks Reinvented Buddhism (Studies in Comparative Philosophy and Religion)
- Lexington Books
- Kuzminski, Adrian (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 170 Pages - 05/10/2010 (Publication Date) - Lexington Books (Publisher)
Sextus Empiricus: Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Loeb Classical Library No. 273)
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Hardcover Book
- Sextus Empiricus (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 560 Pages - 01/01/1933 (Publication Date) - Harvard University Press (Publisher)
Stoic Six Pack 4 - The Sceptics: Pyyrhonic Sketches, Life of Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus, The Greek Sceptics, Stoics & Sceptics and Life of Carneades (Illustrated)
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Empiricus, Sextus (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 216 Pages - 07/09/2015 (Publication Date)
The Skeptic Way: Sextus Empiricus's Outlines of Pyrrhonism
- Used Book in Good Condition
- English (Publication Language)
- 352 Pages - 01/04/1996 (Publication Date) - Oxford University Press (Publisher)
The Greek Sceptics: From Pyrrho to Sextus
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Maccoll, Norman (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 105 Pages - 02/11/2018 (Publication Date) - Edicions Enoanda (Publisher)
Timon of Phlius: Pyrrhonism into Poetry (Untersuchungen zur Antiken Literatur und Geschichte)
- Hardcover Book
- Clayman, Dee L. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 261 Pages - 10/16/2009 (Publication Date) - De Gruyter (Publisher)
Last update 2020-06-17. Price and product availability may change.