Similarities Between Pyrrhonism And Buddhism
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Pyrrhonism is an Ancient Greek school of
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 ...
which rejects dogma and advocates the suspension of judgement over the truth of all beliefs. It was founded by
Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
in the first century BCE, and said to have been inspired by the teachings of
Pyrrho Pyrrho of Elis (; ; ) was a Greek philosopher of Classical antiquity, credited as being the first Greek skeptic philosopher and founder of Pyrrhonism. Life Pyrrho of Elis is estimated to have lived from around 365/360 until 275/270 BCE. Py ...
and
Timon of Phlius Timon of Phlius (; , , ; BCc. 235 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher from the Hellenistic period, who was the student of Pyrrho. Unlike Pyrrho, who wrote nothing, Timon wrote satirical philosophical poetry called ''Silloi'' () as well ...
in the fourth century BCE. Pyrrhonism is best known today through the surviving works of
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...
, writing in the late second century or early third century CE. The publication of Sextus' works in the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
ignited a revival of interest in Skepticism and played a major role in
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
thought and the development of
early modern philosophy Early modern philosophy (also classical modern philosophy) Richard Schacht, ''Classical Modern Philosophers: Descartes to Kant'', Routledge, 2013, p. 1: "Seven men have come to stand out from all of their counterparts in what has come to be known ...
.


History

Pyrrhonism is named after
Pyrrho of Elis Pyrrho of Elis (; ; ) was a Greek philosopher of Classical antiquity, credited as being the first Greek skeptic philosopher and founder of Pyrrhonism. Life Pyrrho of Elis is estimated to have lived from around 365/360 until 275/270 BCE. Pyr ...
, a Greek
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
in the 4th century BCE who was credited by the later Pyrrhonists with forming the first comprehensive school of skeptical thought. However, ancient testimony about the philosophical beliefs of the historical Pyrrho is minimal, and often contradictory: his teachings were recorded by his student
Timon of Phlius Timon of Phlius (; , , ; BCc. 235 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher from the Hellenistic period, who was the student of Pyrrho. Unlike Pyrrho, who wrote nothing, Timon wrote satirical philosophical poetry called ''Silloi'' () as well ...
, but those works have been lost, and only survive in fragments quoted by later authors, and based on testimonies of later authors such as
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 ...
. Pyrrho's own philosophy as recorded by Timon may have been much more dogmatic than that of the later school who bore his name. While Pyrrhonism would become the dominant form of skepticism in the early Roman period, in the
Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
, the
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 ...
was the primary advocate of skepticism until the mid-first century BCE, when Pyrrhonism as a philosophical school was founded by Aenesidemus.


Philosophy

The goal of Pyrrhonism is
ataraxia In Ancient Greek philosophy, ( Greek: , from indicating negation or absence and with the abstract noun suffix ), generally translated as , , , or , is a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and wo ...
, an untroubled and tranquil condition of soul that results from a suspension of judgement, a mental rest owing to which we neither deny nor affirm anything. Pyrrhonists dispute that the dogmatists – which includes all of Pyrrhonism's rival philosophies – claim to have found
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
regarding non-evident matters, and that these opinions about non-evident matters (i.e.,
dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...
) are what prevent one from attaining
eudaimonia Eudaimonia (; ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of ''good spirit'', and which is commonly translated as ''happiness'' or ''Well-being, welfare''. In the works of Aristotle, ''eudaimonia'' was the term for the hig ...
. For any of these dogmas, a Pyrrhonist makes arguments for and against such that the matter cannot be concluded, thus suspending judgement, and thereby inducing ataraxia. Pyrrhonists can be subdivided into those who are ephectic (engaged in suspension of judgment), aporetic (engaged in refutation) or zetetic (engaged in seeking). An ephectic merely suspends judgment on a matter, "balancing perceptions and thoughts against one another." It is a less aggressive form of skepticism, in that sometimes "suspension of judgment evidently just happens to the sceptic". An aporetic skeptic, in contrast, works more actively towards their goal, engaging in the refutation of arguments in favor of various possible beliefs in order to reach
aporia In philosophy, an aporia () is a conundrum or state of puzzlement. In rhetoric, it is a declaration of doubt, made for rhetorical purpose and often feigned. The notion of an aporia is principally found in ancient Greek philosophy, but it also p ...
, an impasse, or state of perplexity, which leads to suspension of judgement. Finally, the zetetic claims to be continually searching for the truth but to have thus far been unable to find it, and thus continues to suspend belief while also searching for reason to cease the suspension of belief.


Modes

Although Pyrrhonism's objective is ataraxia, it is best known for its
epistemological Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowled ...
arguments. The core practice is through setting argument against argument. To aid in this, the Pyrrhonist philosophers
Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
and
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Ag ...
developed sets of stock arguments known as "modes" or "
tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...
."


The ten modes of Aenesidemus

Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
is considered the creator of ''the ten tropes of Aenesidemus'' (also known as ''the ten modes of Aenesidemus'')—although whether he invented the
tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...
or just systematized them from prior Pyrrhonist works is unknown. The tropes represent reasons for suspension of judgment. These are as follows: # Different animals manifest different modes of perception; # Similar differences are seen among individual men; # For the same man, information perceived with the senses is self-contradictory # Furthermore, it varies from time to time with physical changes # In addition, this data differs according to local relations # Objects are known only indirectly through the medium of air, moisture, etc. # These objects are in a condition of perpetual change in colour, temperature, size and motion # All perceptions are relative and interact one upon another # Our impressions become less critical through repetition and custom # All men are brought up with different beliefs, under different laws and social conditions According to Sextus, superordinate to these ten modes stand three other modes: that based on the subject who judges (modes 1, 2, 3 & 4), that based on the object judged (modes 7 & 10), that based on both subject who judges and object judged (modes 5, 6, 8 & 9), and superordinate to these three modes is the mode of relation.


The five modes of Agrippa

These "tropes" or "modes" are given by
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...
in his ''Outlines of Pyrrhonism''. According to Sextus, they are attributed only "to the more recent skeptics" and it is by
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 ...
that we attribute them to
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Ag ...
.Diogenes Laërtius, ix. The ''five tropes of Agrippa'' are: # ''
Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
'' – The uncertainty demonstrated by the differences of opinions among philosophers and people in general. # ''
Infinite regress Infinite regress is a philosophical concept to describe a series of entities. Each entity in the series depends on its predecessor, following a recursive principle. For example, the epistemic regress is a series of beliefs in which the justi ...
'' – All proof rests on matters themselves in need of proof, and so on to infinity. # ''
Relation Relation or relations may refer to: General uses * International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level * Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people * ...
'' – All things are changed as their relations become changed, or, as we look upon them from different points of view. # '' Assumption'' – The truth asserted is based on an unsupported assumption. # '' Circularity'' – The truth asserted involves a circularity of proofs.
According to the mode deriving from dispute, we find that undecidable dissension about the matter proposed has come about both in ordinary life and among philosophers. Because of this we are not able to choose or to rule out anything, and we end up with suspension of judgement. In the mode deriving from infinite regress, we say that what is brought forward as a source of conviction for the matter proposed itself needs another such source, which itself needs another, and so ''ad infinitum'', so that we have no point from which to begin to establish anything, and suspension of judgement follows. In the mode deriving from relativity, as we said above, the existing object appears to be such-and-such relative to the subject judging and to the things observed together with it, but we suspend judgement on what it is like in its nature. We have the mode from hypothesis when the Dogmatists, being thrown back ''ad infinitum'', begin from something which they do not establish but claim to assume simply and without proof in virtue of a concession. The reciprocal mode occurs when what ought to be confirmatory of the object under investigation needs to be made convincing by the object under investigation; then, being unable to take either in order to establish the other, we suspend judgement about both.
With reference to these five tropes, that the first and third are a short summary of the earlier Ten Modes of
Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
. The three additional ones show a progress in the Pyrrhonist system, building upon the objections derived from the fallibility of sense and opinion to more abstract and metaphysical grounds. According to Victor Brochard "the five tropes can be regarded as the most radical and most precise formulation of skepticism that has ever been given. In a sense, they are still irresistible today."


Criteria of action

Pyrrhonist decision making is made according to what the Pyrrhonists describe as the ''criteria of action'' holding to the appearances, without beliefs in accord with the ordinary regimen of life based on: # the guidance of nature, by which we are naturally capable of sensation and thought # the compulsion of the
passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
by which hunger drives us to food and thirst makes us drink # the handing down of customs and laws by which we accept that piety in the conduct of life is good and impiety bad # instruction in ''
techne In Ancient Greek philosophy, techne (; , ) is a philosophical concept that refers to making or doing. Today, while the Ancient Greek definition of techne is similar to the modern definition and use of " practical knowledge", techne can include var ...
''


Skeptic sayings

The Pyrrhonists devised several sayings (Greek ΦΩΝΩΝ) to help practitioners bring their minds to suspend judgment. Among these are: * Not more, nothing more (a saying attributed to
Democritus Democritus (, ; , ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, Thrace, Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an ...
) * Non-assertion (''aphasia'') * Perhaps, it is possible, maybe * I withhold assent * I determine nothing (
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as ...
created a variant of this as his own personal motto, "Que sais-je?" – "what do I know?") * Everything is indeterminate * Everything is non-apprehensible * I do not apprehend * To every argument an equal argument is opposed


Texts

Except for the works of
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...
, the texts of ancient Pyrrhonism have been lost. There is a summary of the ''Pyrrhonian Discourses'' by
Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
, preserved by
Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...
, and a brief summary of Pyrrho's teaching by Aristocles, quoting Pyrrho's student Timon preserved by
Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
:
'The things themselves are equally indifferent, and unstable, and indeterminate, and therefore neither our senses nor our opinions are either true or false. For this reason then we must not trust them, but be without opinions, and without bias, and without wavering, saying of every single thing that it no more is than is not, or both is and is not, or neither is nor is not.


Influence


In Ancient Greek philosophy

Pyrrhonism is often contrasted with
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, altho ...
, a similar but distinct form of Hellenistic philosophical skepticism. While early Academic skepticism was influenced in part by Pyrrho, it grew more and more dogmatic until
Aenesidemus Aenesidemus ( or Αἰνεσίδημος) was a 1st-century BC Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher from Knossos who revived the doctrines of Pyrrho and introduced ten skeptical "modes" (''tropai'') for the suspension of judgment. He broke with the Acad ...
broke with the Academics to revive Pyrrhonism in the first century BCE, denouncing the Academy as "Stoics fighting against Stoics. Some later Pyrrhonists, such as
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus (, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician with Roman citizenship. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and because of the argument ...
, go so far as to claim that Pyrrhonists are the only real skeptics, dividing all philosophy into the dogmatists, the Academics, and the skeptics. Dogmatists claim to have knowledge, Academic skeptics claim that knowledge is impossible, while Pyrrhonists assent to neither proposition, suspending judgment on both. The second century Roman historian
Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, ...
describes the distinction as "...the Academics apprehend (in some sense) the very fact that nothing can be apprehended, and they determine (in some sense) that nothing can be determined, whereas the Pyrrhonists assert that not even that seems to be true, since nothing seems to be true." Sextus Empiricus also said that the Pyrrhonist school influenced and had substantial overlap with the
Empiric school The Empiric school of medicine (''Empirics'', ''Empiricists'', or ''Empirici'', ) was a school of medicine founded in Alexandria the middle of the third century BC.Heinrich von Staden, ''Herophilus: The Art of Medicine in Early Alexandria: Edition, ...
of medicine, but that Pyrrhonism had more in common with the
Methodic school The Methodic school (''Methodics'', ''Methodists'', or ''Methodici'', ) was a branch of medical thought in ancient Greece and Rome. It arose in reaction to both the Empiric school and the Dogmatic school (sometimes referred to as the Rationalist ...
in that it "follow the appearances and take from these whatever seems expedient." Although Julian the Philosopher mentions that Pyrrhonism had died out at the time of his writings, other writers mention the existence of later Pyrrhonists. Pseudo-Clement, writing around the same time (-320 CE) mentions Pyrrhonists in his ''Homilies'' and
Agathias Agathias Scholasticus (; Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 23–25582/594) was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558. Biography Agathias was a native of Myrina ( ...
even reports a Pyrrhonist named Uranius as late as the middle of the 6th century CE.


Similarities between Pyrrhonism and Indian philosophy

A number of similarities have been noted between the Pyrrhonist works of Sextus Empiricius and that of
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
, the
Madhyamaka Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
philosopher from the 2nd or 3rd century CE.Conze, Edward
Buddhist Philosophy and Its European Parallels
Philosophy East and West 13, p.9-23, no.1, January 1963. University press of Hawaii.
Buddhist philosopher
Jan Westerhoff Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a German philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. He is currently Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of O ...
says "many of Nāgārjuna's arguments concerning causation bear strong similarities to classical sceptical arguments as presented in the third book of Sextus Empiricus's ''Outlines of Pyrrhonism''," and Thomas McEvilley suspects that Nagarjuna may have been influenced by Greek Pyrrhonist texts imported into India.Thomas McEvilley, ''The Shape of Ancient Thought'' 2002 pp499-505 McEvilley argues for mutual iteration in the Buddhist logico-epistemological traditions between Pyrrhonism and Madhyamika:
An extraordinary similarity, that has long been noticed, between Pyrrhonism and Mādhyamaka is the formula known in connection with Buddhism as the fourfold negation (''
Catuṣkoṭi ''Catuṣkoṭi'' (Sanskrit; Devanagari: चतुष्कोटि, , Sinhalese:චතුස්කෝටිකය) refers to logical argument(s) of a 'suite of four discrete functions' or 'an indivisible quaternity' that has multiple applicati ...
'') and which in Pyrrhonic form might be called the fourfold indeterminacy.
McEvilley also notes a correspondence between the Pyrrhonist and Madhyamaka views about truth, comparing Sextus' account of two criteria regarding truth, one which judges between reality and unreality, and another which we use as a guide in everyday life. By the first criteria, nothing is either true or false, but by the second, information from the senses may be considered either true or false for practical purposes. As Edward Conze has noted, this is similar to the Madhyamika
Two Truths doctrine The Buddhism, Buddhist doctrine of the two truths (Sanskrit: '','' ) differentiates between two levels of ''satya'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''sacca''; meaning "truth" or "reality") in the teaching of Gautama Buddha, Śākyamuni Buddha: the "conventiona ...
, a distinction between "Absolute truth" (''paramārthasatya''), "the knowledge of the real as it is without any distortion,"Conze (1959: p. 244) and "Truth so-called" (''saṃvṛti satya''), "truth as conventionally believed in common parlance. Other similarities between Pyrrhonism and Buddhism include a version of the
tetralemma The tetralemma is a figure that features prominently in the logic of India. Definition It states that with reference to any a logical proposition (or axiom) X, there are four possibilities: : X (affirmation) : \neg X (negation) : X \land\neg X ...
among the Pyrrhonist maxims, and more significantly, the idea of suspension of judgement and how that can lead to peace and liberation; ''ataraxia'' in Pyrrhonism and ''nirvāṇa'' in Buddhism. Some scholars have also looked farther back, to determine if any earlier Indian philosophy have had an influence on Pyrrho.
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 ...
' biography of Pyrrho reports that Pyrrho traveled with
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
's army to India and incorporated what he learned from the
Gymnosophists Gymnosophists (, ''gymnosophistaí'', i.e. "naked philosophers" or "naked wise men" (from Greek γυμνός ''gymnós'' "naked" and σοφία ''sophía'' "wisdom")) were ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the point of regar ...
and the
Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...
that he met in his travels into his philosophical system. Pyrrho would have spent about 18 months in
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
as part of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
's court during Alexander's conquest of the east. Christopher I. Beckwith draws comparisons between the Buddhist
three marks of existence In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: ''tilakkhaṇa''; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण ''trilakṣaṇa'') of all existence and beings, namely '' anicca'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated ...
and the concepts outlined in the "Aristocles Passage". However, other scholars, such as Stephen Batchelor and Charles Goodman question Beckwith's conclusions about the degree of Buddhist influence on Pyrrho. Conversely, while critical of Beckwith's ideas, Kuzminsky sees credibility in the hypothesis that Pyrrho was influenced by Buddhism, even if it cannot be safely ascertained with our current information.
Ajñana ''Ajñāna'' (, (Vedic) IPA: /ɐd͡ʑ.ɲɑː.nɐ/; (Classical) IPA: /ɐd͡ʑˈɲɑː.n̪ɐ/) was one of the Āstika and nāstika, ''nāstika'' or "heterodox" schools of Hindu philosophy, ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of rad ...
, which upheld
radical skepticism Radical skepticism (or radical scepticism in British English) is the philosophical position that knowledge is most likely impossible. Radical skeptics hold that doubt exists as to the veracity of every belief and that certainty is therefore ne ...
, may have been a more powerful influence on Pyrrho than Buddhism. The Buddhists referred to Ajñana's adherents as ''Amarāvikkhepikas'' or "eel-wrigglers", due to their refusal to commit to a single doctrine. Scholars including Barua, Jayatilleke, and Flintoff, contend that Pyrrho was influenced by, or at the very least agreed with, Indian skepticism rather than Buddhism or Jainism, based on the fact that he valued
ataraxia In Ancient Greek philosophy, ( Greek: , from indicating negation or absence and with the abstract noun suffix ), generally translated as , , , or , is a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and wo ...
, which can be translated as "freedom from worry". Jayatilleke, in particular, contends that Pyrrho may have been influenced by the first three schools of Ajñana, since they too valued freedom from worry.


Modern

The recovery and publication of the works of Sextus Empiricus, particularly a widely influential translation by
Henri Estienne Henri Estienne ( , ; 1528 or 15311598), also known as Henricus Stephanus ( ), was a French printer and classical scholar. He was the eldest son of Robert Estienne. He was instructed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by his father and would eventually ...
published in 1562, ignited a revival of interest in Pyrrhonism. Philosophers of the time used his works to source their arguments on how to deal with the religious issues of their day. Major philosophers such as
Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...
,
Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...
, and
Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi, Petrus Gassendus; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he a ...
later drew on the model of Pyrrhonism outlined in Sextus Empiricus' works for their own arguments. This resurgence of Pyrrhonism has sometimes been called the beginning of modern philosophy.
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as ...
adopted the image of a balance scale for his motto, which became a modern symbol of Pyrrhonism. It has also been suggested that Pyrrhonism provided the skeptical underpinnings that
René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...
drew from in developing his influential method of
Cartesian doubt Cartesian doubt is a form of methodological skepticism associated with the writings and methodology of René Descartes (March 31, 1596February 11, 1650). Cartesian doubt is also known as Cartesian skepticism, methodic doubt, methodological skeptic ...
and the associated turn of
early modern philosophy Early modern philosophy (also classical modern philosophy) Richard Schacht, ''Classical Modern Philosophers: Descartes to Kant'', Routledge, 2013, p. 1: "Seven men have come to stand out from all of their counterparts in what has come to be known ...
towards
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
. In the 18th century,
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...
was also considerably influenced by Pyrrhonism, using "Pyrrhonism" as a synonym for "skepticism.".
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
, however, criticized the "ephectics" of the Pyrrhonists as a flaw of early philosophers, whom he characterized as "shy little blunderer and milquetoast with crooked legs" prone to overindulging "his doubting drive, his negating drive, his wait-and-see ('ephectic') drive, his analytical drive, his exploring, searching, venturing drive, his comparing, balancing drive, his will to neutrality and objectivity, his will to every '' sine ira et studio'': have we already grasped that for the longest time they all went against the first demands of
morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...
and
conscience A conscience is a Cognition, cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's ethics, moral philosophy or value system. Conscience is not an elicited emotion or thought produced by associations based on i ...
?"


Contemporary

The term "neo-Pyrrhonism" is used to refer to modern Pyrrhonists such as
Benson Mates Benson Mates (May 19, 1919 in Portland, Oregon – May 14, 2009 in Berkeley, California) was an American philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley, noted for his work in logic, the history of philosophy, and skepticism. Educ ...
and
Robert Fogelin Robert John Fogelin (June 24, 1932– October 24, 2016) was an American philosopher, and advocate and leading scholar of modern Pyrrhonism. He was a professor of philosophy and Sherman Fairchild Professor in the humanities (emeritus) at Dartmout ...
.


See also

*
Apophasis Apophasis (; , ) is a rhetorical device wherein the speaker or writer brings up a subject by either denying it, or denying that it should be brought up. Accordingly, it can be seen as a rhetorical relative of irony. A classic example of apophasi ...
*
Apophatic theology Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theology, theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to Problem of religious language, approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may no ...
*
Cognitive closure (philosophy) Cognitive closure refers to the concept in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of science that suggests human cognitive faculties are fundamentally incapable of solving certain philosophical problems. These problems, which have persisted throu ...
*
Cratylism Cratylism as a philosophical theory that holds that there is a natural relationship between words and what words designate. It reflects the teachings of the Athenian Cratylus (, also transliterated as Kratylos), fl. mid to late 5th century BCE, who ...
*
De Docta Ignorantia ''De docta ignorantia'' () is a book on philosophy and theology by Nicholas of Cusa (or Nicolaus Cusanus), who finished writing it on 12 February 1440 in his hometown of Kues, Germany. Earlier scholars had discussed the question of "learned i ...
*
Defeatism Defeatism is the acceptance of defeat without struggle, often with negative connotations. It can be linked to pessimism in psychology, and may sometimes be used synonymously with fatalism or determinism. In politics, defeatism is used for one's p ...
* Quietism * Buddhism and the Roman world *
Greco-Buddhism Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism was a cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, which was in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanis ...
* Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations * E-Prime *
Nassim Nicholas Taleb Nassim Nicholas Taleb (; alternatively ''Nessim ''or'' Nissim''; born 12 September 1960) is a Lebanese-American essayist, mathematical statistician, former option trader, risk analyst, and aphorist. His work concerns problems of randomness, ...
*
Trivialism Trivialism is the logical theory that all statements (also known as propositions) are true and, consequently, that all contradictions of the form "p and not p" (e.g. the ball is red and not red) are true. In accordance with this, a trivialist is ...
* The Hedgehog and the Fox *
List of unsolved problems in philosophy This is a list of some of the major problems in philosophy. Philosophy of language Counterfactuals A counterfactual statement is a conditional statement with a false antecedent. For example, the statement "If Joseph Swan had not invented the ...


Notes


References

* * * *


External links

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Pyrrhonism Philosophical skepticism 1st-century BC establishments