Academic skepticism
Also known as: Academic-Skeptic
- 1Active from approximately 266 BCE to 90 BCE.
- 2Key figures included Arcesilaus, Carneades, and Philo of Larissa.
- 3Maintained that knowledge of things is impossible.
- 4Developed a system based on degrees of plausibility.
- 5Defined by its opposition to Stoic dogma.
- 6Documented extensively in Cicero's work, Academica.
Academic skepticism was the philosophy of the skeptical period of the 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.
Connections1
philosophical influence
Valencia's critical methodology was heavily influenced by the skeptical tradition, which he used to question dogmatic assertions in both science and theology.
Academic skepticism was a philosophical school that emerged within the Academy around 266 BCE when Arcesilaus became its scholarch. This period of skepticism lasted until approximately 90 BCE, when Antiochus of Ascalon formally rejected the skeptical tradition.
Carneades of Cyrene, the most important of the Academic skepticsWikimedia Commons: File:Head_Karneades_Glyptothek_Munich.jpgSix of the skeptics standing together in Raphael's painting The School of Athens. From left to right: Pythodorus, Arcesilaus of Pitane, Carneades of Cyrene, Pyrrho of Elis, Timon of Phlius, Theodorus the Atheist of Cyrene.Wikimedia Commons: File:Skeptics_at_the_School_of_Athens.jpg Unlike the Pyrrhonists, who were a separate school, the Academics argued that absolute knowledge of things is impossible. However, they allowed for degrees of plausibility and belief, which provided a practical framework for human action. The school was particularly noted for its rigorous attacks on the Stoics, specifically challenging the dogma that convincing impressions could lead to certain truth. Much of our knowledge about this movement comes from the Academica, written by the philosopher Cicero.