Theories of Knowledge
Wednesday April 11 2002

Ancient Skepticism

Reaction to stoicism
4th century Greco Roman

Stoics: extreme rationalists
God was called Logos (reason)
He was made of fire; each of us carries a divine spark within us
Thought deductive logic could prove all important truths
Aim of life was happiness. This was obtained through understanding the Universe and controlling our subjective reaction to it.

Skeptics
The pursuit of leads to unhappiness.
Suspension of judgement leads to happiness (agnosticism).

Two kinds of skeptics:
Academic (moderate) skeptics - from Socrates and Plato (Plato's Academy)
Epistemic humility. Hold belief as tentative - matter of probability versus certainty.
Pyrrhonian (radical) skeptics - from Pyrrho.
Doubt everything, even the fact that nothing is certain.

An oracle at Delphi (of the god Apollo) said "No one is wiser than Socrates."
Socrates was wise because he realized his own ignorance.
Is questioning common sense irrational folly?

Skeptics say common sense is neither. It's often wrong, culturally dependent. For instance:
Disease is caused by demons
Bleeding is an effective cure
People of noble blood are superior to those of common ancestry
Blacks aren't fully human
Physical objects are composed of mostly empty space