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Carneades
Carneades (; , ''Karneadēs'', "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher, perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in Ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had begun to attack many previous dogmatic doctrines, especially Stoicism and even the Epicureans, whom previous skeptics had spared. As scholarch (leader) of the Academy, he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC where his lectures on the uncertainty of justice caused consternation among leading politicians. He left no writings. Many of his opinions are known only via his successor Clitomachus. He seems to have doubted the ability not just of the senses but of reason too in acquiring truth. His skepticism was, however, moderated by the belief that we can, nevertheless, ascertain probabilities (not in the sense of statistical probability, but in the sense of persuasiveness) of truth, to enable us to act. Biography Carneades, the son of Epicomus or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academic Skepticism
Academic skepticism refers to the philosophical skepticism, skeptical period of the Platonic Academy, Academy dating from around 266 BCE, when Arcesilaus became scholarch, until around 90 BCE, when Antiochus of Ascalon rejected skepticism, although individual philosophers, such as Favorinus and his teacher Plutarch, continued to defend skepticism after this date. Unlike the existing school of skepticism, the Pyrrhonism, Pyrrhonists, they maintained that acatalepsia, knowledge of things is impossible. Ideas or notions are never true; nevertheless, there are degrees of plausibility, and hence degrees of belief, which allow one to act. The school was characterized by its attacks on the Stoics, particularly their dogma that Katalepsis, convincing impressions led to true episteme, knowledge. The most important Academics were Arcesilaus, Carneades, and Philo of Larissa. The most extensive ancient source of information about Academic skepticism is ''Academica (Cicero), Academica'', writt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellenistic Philosophy
Hellenistic philosophy is Ancient Greek philosophy corresponding to the Hellenistic period in Ancient Greece, from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The dominant schools of this period were the Stoics, the Epicureans and the Academic Skepticism, Skeptics. Background The Preceding classical period in Ancient Greek philosophy had centered around Socrates (c. 470–399 BC), whose students Antisthenes, Aristippus, and Plato went on to found Cynicism (philosophy), Cynicism, Cyrenaicism, and Platonism, respectively. Plato taught Aristotle who created the Peripateticism, Peripatetic school and in turn, had tutored Alexander the Great. Socrates' thought was therefore influential for many of these schools of the period, leading them to focus on ethics and how to reach ''eudaimonia.'' Early Platonism, known as the "Old Academy" begins with Plato, followed by Speusippus (Plato's nephew), who succeeded him as the head of school (until 339 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clitomachus (philosopher)
Clitomachus or Cleitomachus (, ''Kleitómakhos''; 187/6–110/9BC) was a Greek philosopher, originally from Carthage, who came to Athens in 163/2BC and studied philosophy under Carneades. He became head of the Academy around 127/6BC. He was an Academic skeptic like his master. Nothing survives of his writings, which were dedicated to making known the views of Carneades, but Cicero made use of them for some of his works. Life Clitomachus was born in Carthage in 187/6BC as Hasdrubal (, ''Hasdroúbas''; , ''ʿAzrubaʿal'', "Help of Baal"). He came to Athens in 163/2 BC, when he was about 24 years old. There he became connected with the founder of the New Academy, the philosopher Carneades, under whose guidance he rose to be one of the most distinguished disciples of this school; but he also studied at the same time the philosophy of the Stoics and Peripatetics. In 127/6 BC, two years after the death of Carneades, he became the effective head ( scholarch) of the Academy. He conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophical Skepticism
Philosophical skepticism (UK spelling: scepticism; from Ancient Greek, Greek σκέψις ''skepsis'', "inquiry") is a family of philosophical views that question the possibility of knowledge. It differs from other forms of skepticism in that it even rejects very plausible knowledge claims that belong to basic common sense. Philosophical skeptics are often classified into two general categories: Those who acatalepsy, deny all possibility of knowledge, and those who advocate for the Suspension_of_judgment, suspension of judgment due to the inadequacy of evidence. This distinction is modeled after the differences between the Academic skepticism, Academic skeptics and the Pyrrhonian skeptics in ancient Greek philosophy. Pyrrhonian skepticism is a practice of suspending judgement, and skepticism in this sense is understood as a way of life that helps the practitioner achieve inner peace. Some types of philosophical skepticism reject all forms of knowledge while others limit this rej ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plank Of Carneades
In ethics, the plank of Carneades is a thought experiment first proposed by the Academic Skeptic philosopher Carneades of Cyrene. It explores the concept of self-defense in relation to murder. In the thought experiment, there are two shipwrecked sailors, A and B. They both see a plank that can only support one of them and both of them swim towards it. Sailor A gets to the plank first. Sailor B, who is going to drown, pushes A off and away from the plank and, thus, proximately, causes A to drown. Sailor B gets on the plank and is later saved by a rescue team. The thought experiment poses the question of whether Sailor B can be tried for murder because if B had to kill A in order to live, then it would arguably be in self-defense. The Case of the Speluncean Explorers by legal philosopher Lon Fuller is a similar exploration of morality and legality ''in extremis''. The title is also derived from a Greek legend originating from 2 B.C. The story was about two men who escaped fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platonic Academy
The Academy (), variously known as Plato's Academy, or the Platonic Academy, was founded in Classical Athens, Athens by Plato ''wikt:circa, circa'' 387 BC. The academy is regarded as the first institution of higher education in the west, where subjects as diverse as biology, geography, astronomy, mathematics, history, and many more were taught and investigated. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a Academic skepticism, skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. The Platonic Academy was destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC. A neo-Platonic academy was later established in Athens that sought to continue the tradition of Plato's Academy. This academy was shut down by Justinian I, Justinian in 529 AD, when some of the scholars fled to Harran, where the study of classical texts continued. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scholarch
A scholarch (, ''scholarchēs'') was the head of a school in ancient Greece. The term is especially remembered for its use to mean the heads of schools of philosophy, such as the Platonic Academy in ancient Athens. Its first scholarch was Plato himself, the founder and proprietor. He held the position for forty years, appointing his nephew Speusippus as his successor. The members of the Academy elected later scholarchs. A list of scholarchs of the four main philosophy schools during the Hellenistic period, with the approximate dates they headed the schools, is as follows:Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek ph ..., 'Lives of the Eminent Philosophers', Book 9, Chapter 12, Section 116 Notes {{Reflist Education in ancient Greece * Ancient Greek titles [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diogenes Of Babylon
Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia; ; ; c. 230 – c. 150/140 BC) was a Stoic philosopher. He was the head of the Stoic school in Athens, and he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC. He wrote many works, but none of his writings survived, except as quotations by later writers. Life Born in Seleucia on the Tigris in Babylonia, Diogenes was educated at Athens under the auspices of Chrysippus and succeeded Zeno of Tarsus as head ('' scholarch'') of the Stoic school there in the 2nd century BC. Among his pupils were Panaetius and Antipater of Tarsus who succeeded him as scholarch. He seems to have closely followed the views of Chrysippus, especially on dialectic, in which he is said to have instructed Carneades. Together with Carneades and Critolaus, he was sent to Rome to appeal a fine of five hundred talents imposed on Athens in 155 BC for the sack of Oropus. They delivered their epideictic speeches first in numerous private assembl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundamental level, Platonism affirms the existence of abstract objects, which are asserted to exist in a third realm distinct from both the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness, and is the opposite of nominalism." Philosophers who affirm the existence of abstract objects are sometimes called platonists; those who deny their existence are sometimes called nominalists. The terms "platonism" and "nominalism" have established senses in the history of philosophy, where they denote positions that have little to do with the modern notion of an abstract object. In this connection, it is essential to bear in mind that modern platonists (with a small 'p') need not accept any of the doctrines of Plato, just as modern nomina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probabilism
In theology and philosophy, probabilism (from Latin ''probare'', to test, approve) is an ancient Greek doctrine of academic skepticism. It holds that in the absence of certainty, plausibility or truth-likeness is the best criterion. The term can also refer to a 17th-century religious thesis about ethics, or a modern physical–philosophical thesis. Philosophy Ancient In ancient Greek philosophy, probabilism referred to the doctrine which gives assistance in ordinary matters to one who is skeptical in respect of the possibility of real knowledge: it supposes that though knowledge is impossible, a man may rely on strong beliefs in practical affairs. This view was held by the skeptics of the New Academy. Academic skeptics accept probabilism, while Pyrrhonian skeptics do not. Modern In modern usage, a probabilist is someone who believes that central epistemological issues are best approached using probabilities. This thesis is neutral with respect to whether knowledge entail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene, also sometimes anglicization of names, anglicized as Kyrene, was an ancient Greeks, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony and ancient Romans, Roman Cities of the Roman Empire, city near present-day Shahhat in northeastern Libya in North Africa. It was part of the Pentapolis (North Africa), Pentapolis, an important group of five cities in the region, and gave the area its classical and early modern name Cyrenaica. Cyrene lies on a ridge of the Jebel Akhdar (Libya), Jebel Akhdar uplands. The archaeological remains cover several hectares and include several monumental temples, stoas, theatres, bathhouses, churches, and palatial residences. The city is surrounded by the Necropolis of Cyrene. Since 1982, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city's port was Apollonia, Cyrenaica, Apollonia (Marsa Sousa), located about to the north. The city was attributed to Apollo and the legendary etymology, etymon Cyrene (mythology), Cyrene by the Greeks themselves but it was p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hegesinus Of Pergamon
Hegesinus of Pergamon (), was an Academic Skeptic philosopher from Pergamon. He was the successor of Evander and the immediate predecessor of Carneades as the leader (scholarch) of the Platonic Academy, and served for a period around 160 BC.Diogenes Laërtius, ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'', iv. 60; Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ..., ''Academica'', ii. 6. Nothing else is known about him. Notes References *K. Algra, J. Barnes, J. Mansfeld, M. Schofield, ''The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy''. Pages 32–33. Cambridge University Press. (2005). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hegesinus of Pergamon Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia People from Pergamon 2nd-century BC Greek philosophers Academic skeptics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
