Doubt Is Pyrrhonian Skepticism?

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Skepticism has been considered to be a major philosophical debate for at least a millennium now, in our present day it is a topic that contains a wide variety of theories and opinions. One of the more abstract theories that involves complete doubt is Pyrrhonian skepticism. This type of skepticism is valued under the principal that an individual should suspend judgement on all matters of knowledge; one cannot know if something is true or if something is false. Once an individual is conditioned by this theory, they are considered to be in a state of serenity, proclaiming that nothing can be known at all. One of the most notable Pyrrhonian Skeptics was Sextus Empiricus; a Greek physician and philosopher who was thought to have lived between the …show more content…

This form of skepticism, known as Cartesian doubt, does not sit well with the Pyrrhonian School, as Sextus argues that Pyrrhonian doubt is never solely based off of conclusions of imperceptible objects, unlike the Cartesian school. He states that “The dogmatist asserts the objective validity of what he is said to be dogmatising about, whereas the sceptic does not claim universal and objective validity for his slogans.” (3). The skeptic knows that whatever belief or reasoning he is talking about is submitted by his feelings, not by external objects, and he comes to no conclusion of what is true and what is …show more content…

Unlike the Pyrrhonian skeptic, the dogmatist makes claims about the essence of nature; they feel compelled to rant about ideas that have no justified conclusion. Through his publication Discourse on Method, Descartes argues that “the actions of life often not allowing any delay, it is a truth very certain that, when it is not in our power to determine the most true opinions we ought to follow the most probable.” (3). Unlike Descartes, Sextus knew that nothing can be known for certain, as a result he does not respond to claims, but withholds the belief that things can be concluded based on what is immediately evident. Cartesian doubt starts with skepticism, but leads to

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