Download or read book Ancient Scepticism written by Harald Thorsrud and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scepticism, a philosophical tradition that casts doubt on our ability to gain knowledge of the world and suggests suspending judgement in the face of uncertainty, has been influential since is beginnings in ancient Greece. Harald Thorsrud provides an engaging, rigorous introduction to the arguments, central themes and general concerns of ancient Scepticism, from its beginnings with Pyrrho of Elis (c.360-c.270 BCE) to the writings of Sextus Empiricus in the second century CE. Thorsrud explores the differences among Sceptics and examines in particular the separation of the Scepticism of Pyrrho from its later form - Academic Scepticism - which arose when its ideas were introduced into Plato's "Academy" in the third century BCE. He also unravels the prolonged controversy that developed between Academic Scepticism and Stoicism, the prevailing dogmatism of the day. Steering an even course through the many differences of scholarly opinion surrounding Scepticism, Thorsrud provides a balanced appraisal of its enduring significance by showing why it remains so philosophically interesting and how ancient interpretations differ from modern ones.

Download or read book Belief and Truth written by Katja Maria Vogt and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-20 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Belief and Truth: A Skeptic Reading of Plato explores a Socratic intuition about belief, doxa — belief is "shameful." In aiming for knowledge, one must aim to get rid of beliefs. Vogt shows how deeply this proposal differs from contemporary views, but that it nevertheless speaks to intuitions we are likely to share with Plato, ancient skeptics, and Stoic epistemologists.

Download or read book Sextus Empiricus Outlines of Scepticism written by Sextus Empiricus and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-07-20 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlines of Scepticism, by the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, is a work of major importance for the history of Greek philosophy. It is the fullest extant account of ancient scepticism, and it is also one of our most copious sources of information about the other Hellenistic philosophies. Its first part contains an elaborate exposition of the Pyrrhonian variety of scepticism; its second and third parts are critical and destructive, arguing against 'dogmatism' in logic, epistemology, science and ethics - an approach that revolutionized the study of philosophy when Sextus' works were rediscovered and published in the sixteenth century. This volume presents the accurate and readable translation which was first published in 1994, together with a substantial new historical and philosophical introduction by Jonathan Barnes.

Download or read book Pyrrhonian Skepticism in Diogenes Laertius written by Katja Maria Vogt and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2015-04-14 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers the first bilingual edition of a major text in the history of epistemology, Diogenes Laertius's report on Pyrrho and Timon in his Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Leading experts contribute a philosophical introduction, translation, commentary, and scholarly essays on the nature of Diogenes's report as well as core questions in recent research on skepticism.

Download or read book Hellenistic Philosophy written by A. A. Long and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1986-08-20 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this book is to trace the main developments in Greek philosophy during the period which runs from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.c. to the end of the Roman Republic (31 B.c.). These three centuries, known to us as the Hellenistic Age, witnessed a vast expansion of Greek civilization eastwards, following Alexander's conquests; and later, Greek civilization penetrated deeply into the western Mediterranean world assisted by the political conquerors of Greece, the Romans. But philosophy throughout this time remained a predominantly Greek activity. The most influential thinkers in the Hellenistic world were Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics. This book gives a concise critical analysis of their ideas and their methods of thought. The last book in English to cover this ground was written sixty years ago. In the interval the subject has moved on, quite rapidly since the last war, but most of the best work is highly specialized. There is a clear need for a general appraisal of Hellenistic philosophy which can provide those who are not specialists with an up-to-date account of the subject. Hellenistic philosophy is often regarded as a dull product of second-rate thinkers who are unable to stand comparison with Plato and Aristotle. This book will help to remove such misconceptions and arouse wider interest in a field which is fascinating both historically and conceptually.

Download or read book The Sceptics written by R. J. Hankinson and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of Greek sceptism, from the beginnings of epistemology with Xenophanes, to the final full development Pyrrhonism as presented in the work of Sextus Empiricus.

Download or read book The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment written by Anton M. Matytsin and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 8. A Matter of Debate: Conceptions of Material Substance in the Scientific Revolution -- 9. War of the Worlds: Cartesian Vortices and Newtonian Gravitation in Eighteenth-Century Astronomy -- 10. Historical Pyrrhonism and Its Discontents -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z

Download or read book Evenings with the Skeptics written by John Owen and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book How to Keep an Open Mind written by Sextus Empiricus and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How ancient skepticism can help you attain tranquility by learning to suspend judgment Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by presenting a fresh, modern translation of key passages from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, the only Greek skeptic whose works have survived. While content in daily life to go along with things as they appear to be, Sextus advocated—and provided a set of techniques to achieve—a radical suspension of judgment about the way things really are, believing that such nonjudging can be useful for challenging the unfounded dogmatism of others and may help one achieve a state of calm and tranquility. In an introduction, Richard Bett makes the case that the most important lesson we can draw from Sextus’s brand of skepticism today may be an ability to see what can be said on the other side of any issue, leading to a greater open-mindedness. Complete with the original Greek on facing pages, How to Keep an Open Mind offers a compelling antidote to the closed-minded dogmatism of today’s polarized world.

Download or read book The History of Scepticism written by Richard Henry Popkin and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents

Download or read book Radical Skepticism and the Shadow of Doubt written by Eli Hirsch and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-28 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radical Skepticism and the Shadow of Doubt brings something new to epistemology both in content and style. At the outset we are asked to imagine a person named Vatol who grows up in a world containing numerous people who are brains-in-vats and who hallucinate their entire lives. Would Vatol have reason to doubt whether he himself is in contact with reality? If he does have reason to doubt, would he doubt, or is it impossible for a person to have such doubts? And how do we ourselves compare to Vatol? After reflection, can we plausibly claim that Vatol has reason to doubt, but we don't? These are the questions that provide the novel framework for the debates in this book. Topics that are treated here in significantly new ways include: the view that we ought to doubt only when we philosophize; epistemological “dogmatism”; and connections between radical doubt and “having a self.” The book adopts the innovative form of a “dialogue/play.” The three characters, who are Talmud students as well as philosophers, hardly limit themselves to pure philosophy, but regale each other with Talmudic allusions, reminiscences, jokes, and insults. For them the possibility of doubt emerges as an existential problem with potentially deep emotional significance. Setting complex arguments about radical skepticism within entertaining dialogue, this book can be recommended for both beginners and specialists.

Download or read book Outlines of Pyrrhonism written by Sextus (Empiricus.) and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history philosophers have sought to define, understand, and delineate concepts important to human well-being. One such concept is "knowledge." Many philosophers believed that absolute, certain knowledge, is possible--that the physical world and ideas formulated about it could be given solid foundation unaffected by the varieties of mere opinion. Sextus Empiricus stands as an example of the "skeptic" school of thought whose members believed that knowledge was either unattainable or, if a genuine possibility, the conditions necessary to achieve it were next to impossible to satisfy. In other words, in the absence of complete knowledge, one must make do with the information provided by an imperfect world and conveyed to the mind through sense impressions that can often deceive us. Throughout his life Sextus Empiricus entered into intellectual combat with those who confidently claimed to possess indubitable knowledge. For skeptics, the best one can hope to achieve is a reasonable suspension of judgment--remaining ever mindful that claims to knowledge require careful scrutiny, thoughtful analysis, and critical review if we are to prevent ourselves and others from plunging headlong into mistaken notions.

Download or read book Pyrrhonian Skepticism written by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-07-22 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the history of philosophy, skepticism has posed one of the central challenges of epistemology. Opponents of skepticism--including externalists, contextualists, foundationalists, and coherentists--have focussed largely on one particular variety of skepticism, often called Cartesian or Academic skepticism, which makes the radical claim that nobody can know anything. However, this version of skepticism is something of a straw man, since virtually no philosopher endorses this radical skeptical claim. The only skeptical view that has been truly held--by Sextus, Montaigne, Hume, Wittgenstein, and, most recently, Robert Fogelin--has been Pyrrohnian skepticism. Pyrrhonian skeptics do not assert Cartesian skepticism, but neither do they deny it. The Pyrrhonian skeptics' doubts run so deep that they suspend belief even about Cartesian skepticism and its denial. Nonetheless, some Pyrrhonians argue that they can still hold "common beliefs of everyday life" and can even claim to know some truths in an everyday way. This edited volume presents previously unpublished articles on this subject by a strikingly impressive group of philosophers, who engage with both historical and contemporary versions of Pyrrhonian skepticism. Among them are Gisela Striker, Janet Broughton, Don Garrett, Ken Winkler, Hans Sluga, Ernest Sosa, Michael Williams, Barry Stroud, Robert Fogelin, and Roy Sorensen. This volume is thematically unified and will interest a broad spectrum of scholars in epistemology and the history of philosophy.

Download or read book Sextus Empiricus Against the Logicians written by Sextus (Empiricus) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-12-22 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new and accurate translation of an important work of ancient Greek scepticism.

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism written by Richard Bett and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-28 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a comprehensive survey of the main periods, schools, and individual proponents of scepticism in the ancient Greek and Roman world. The contributors examine the major developments chronologically and historically, ranging from the early antecedents of scepticism to the Pyrrhonist tradition. They address the central philosophical and interpretive problems surrounding the sceptics' ideas on subjects including belief, action, and ethics. Finally, they explore the effects which these forms of scepticism had beyond the ancient period, and the ways in which ancient scepticism differs from scepticism as it has been understood since Descartes. The volume will serve as an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the subject for non-specialists, while also offering considerable depth and detail for more advanced readers.

Download or read book Evenings with the Skeptics written by John Owen and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism written by Mary Mills Patrick and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-09-04 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism" by Mary Mills Patrick. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.