Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T01:01:13.571Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

7 - Sextus Empiricus: the consistency of Pyrrhonian Scepticism

Harald Thorsrud
Affiliation:
Agnes Scott College, Georgia
Get access

Summary

Whatever became of Pyrrhonian Scepticism in the wake of Aenesidemus, it did not make much of an impression on Seneca, who remarks in the early 60s ce that there is no one to hand on the teachings of Pyrrho (Natural Questions 7.32). On the other hand, looking back from the third century ce, Diogenes draws a lineage of Pyrrhonian teachers and students from Pyrrho all the way up to Sextus Empiricus and his student Saturninus (DL 9.115–16). The list probably exhibits Diogenes' passion for genealogy more than historical truth. But it is likely that there was some continuity of sceptical practice from the time of Aenesidemus since, more than 200 years later, Sextus draws on a rich tradition of sceptical argument that clearly was not the work of just one Sceptic.

Indeed, Sextus himself sometimes seems not to be just one Sceptic either. There are a number of strands in his works, not all of which fit comfortably together. The most likely explanation is that there were earlier, incompatible versions of Pyrrhonism recorded in his sources, and that Sextus drew from them with little concern for consistency. Whether he should have been concerned with consistency is a topic to be explored later. Despite these apparently inconsistent sceptical strands in Sextus' texts, we can discern a distinctive voice at work, and we can extract a coherent philosophical position, or rather practice.

Type
Chapter
Information
Ancient Scepticism , pp. 123 - 146
Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×