Full-text resources of CEJSH and other databases are now available in the new Library of Science.
Visit https://bibliotekanauki.pl

Results found: 5

first rewind previous Page / 1 next fast forward last

Search results

Search:
in the keywords:  Skepticism
help Sort By:

help Limit search:
first rewind previous Page / 1 next fast forward last
1
Publication available in full text mode
Content available

On the Motivations of a Skeptic, and Her Practice

100%
Maddox B.
Peitho. Examina Antiqua
|
2016
|
vol. 7
|
issue 1
229-248
EN
The aim of Pyrrhonism is deceptively simple: to achieve a state of ataraxia, of tranquility and relief from perturbation. But what is the extent of the ataraxia envisioned? Must the Skeptic admit a hard distinction between disturbances apparently related to belief and there­fore subject to suspension of judgement, and extra-doxastic disturbanc­es (e.g. everyday anxiety and frustration, or even hunger and fear) that are beyond the scope of the Skeptical method? In this paper I examine passages from Sextus’s Outlines of Pyrrhonism that indicate that such a distinction may not stand up to Skeptical scrutiny and that the Skepti­cal method does not only apply to “philosophical” speculative dogma or to “intellectual” perturbation, contra Barnes’s claim that the person who perceives the fewest anomalies may make “the perfect Pyrrhonist”. But I also, following Massie’s critique of unwarranted causal inferences regarding the relation between equipollence and ataraxia, distinguish cases where tarache (disturbance) presents itself as anomalous and thus lends itself to inquiry from cases where it presents itself with an appar­ent cause and does not provoke inquiry. Thus, though an apparently extra-doxastic disturbance may actually be rooted in unconsciously-held dogma, the Skeptic cannot demarcate a special class of potentially doxastic disturbances without employing a dogmatic psychology of her own. She must instead suspend judgment regarding the entire scope of her method, entertaining the possibility that any disturbance could be relieved through the Skeptical method. In the process, ataraxia is divested of definite parameters and the Skeptical method becomes effectively endless.
2
Content available remote

Does “One Cannot Know” Entail “Everyone is Right?” The Relationship between Epistemic Scepticism and Relativism

88%
Amini M., Caldwell C.
Forum Philosophicum
|
2010
|
vol. 15
|
issue 1
103-118
EN
The objective of the paper is to seek clarification on the relationship between epistemic relativism and scepticism. It is not infrequent to come across contemporary discussions of epistemic relativism that rely upon aspects of scepticism and, vice versa, discussions of scepticism drawing upon aspects of relativism. Our goal is to highlight the difference(s) between them by illustrating (1) that some arguments thought to be against relativism are actually against scepticism, (2) that there are different ways of understanding the relationship between relativism and scepticism, and (3) that a commitment to either relativism or scepticism does not entail commitment to the other. The paper focuses upon the works of Peter Unger and Paul Boghossian to show how this terrain can be variously conceived and to illustrate that Boghossian's conception of the landscape is incorrect.
3
Publication available in full text mode
Content available

Philosophy and Ataraxia in Sextus Empiricus

88%
Massie P.
Peitho. Examina Antiqua
|
2013
|
vol. 4
|
issue 1
211-234
EN
This essay addresses two interconnected questions: (a) In what sense is Skepticism a philosophy? (b) How can ataraxia emerge out of epochē? Skepticism is a practice that articulates three moments: equipollence, epochē (suspension of judgment), and ataraxia (freedom from disturbance) and Sextus’ account of how one can move through these moments demonstrates the its philosophical nature. However, to clarify the transition from epochē to ataraxia Sextus offers only one clue: the story of Apelles. If this story is paradigmatic, it is also ambiguous since the transition from epochē to ataraxia can neither be causal nor inferential. Apelles achieves his goal purely by chance. Contrary to a common interpretation, this doesn’t mean that the Skeptic abandons the inquiry (just as Apelles doesn’t abandon painting). Lastly, the essay argues that Skepticism is not only the practice of a certain dialectical method but also a practice upon oneself. The Skeptic must learn to dissociate herself from the thoughts she entertains. Sustained inquiry can coexist with ataraxia because the Skeptic has discovered that her consciousness is distinct from its intentional content now bracketed by epochē. To free ourselves from our attachment to dogmatic beliefs is to opens up a space of self-detachment.  
4

Discording Enlightenments on China: Pierre Bayle’s Skepticism vs Johan Jacob Brucker’s Exoticism

75%
Ambrogio S.
Dialogue and Universalism
|
2021
|
issue 3
157-177
EN
It is usually acknowledged that the core contribution of the Enlightenment is primarily twofold: the first being the introduction of reason and science as judgmental principles, and the second being the belief in the future progress of humankind as a shared destiny for humanity. This ‘modern’ reason—an exclusively human prerogative among creatures—could be applied to create a better society from the political, civil, educational, scientific, and religious points of view. What is usually less known is that for most of the Enlightenment thinkers, this philosophical and cultural step was the prerogative of European or Western-educated thinkers, which implied a gradual exclusion of extra-European civilizations from human progress as a natural phenomenon. Thus, with the exception of a few French libertines, the creation of a better society was due to reason and critical thinking absent in other civilizations, who could, at most, inherit this ‘rational power’ from Western education. This exclusion, which is usually attributed to the violence of the colonialist period, is already implied in the arguments of several Enlightenment thinkers. Our investigation will follow three steps: an exposition of the three Western historical paradigms in which Eastern civilizations were inserted between the 17th and 18th century; a comparison between the attitude toward China and Buddhism of two very distant philosophers of the Enlightenment—i.e. Pierre Bayle (1647– 1706) and Johann Jacob Brucker (1696–1770)—and a brief reflection on the Enlightenment from an ‘external/exotic’ point of view that will suggest the necessity of a ‘new skeptical Enlightenment’ for inducing actual intercultural dialogue.
5
Publication available in full text mode
Content available

Umiarkowana obrona sceptycyzmu

45%
Walicki J.
Internetowy Magazyn Filozoficzny Hybris
|
2021
|
vol. 52
|
issue 1
1-29
EN
The article is an attempt to present a credibility of the philosophical skepticism and its intrinsic connection to wisdom. In the paper I explain basic presupposition of the tradition and then revise them within the framework a few modern skeptical clues (rhetorical nature of all argumentation, L. Wittgenstein's language games, hermeneutic concept of knowledge). Taking into considerations widespread accusations against the philosophical skepticism, I reveal their limitations, doing it in a reference to Sextus Empiricus' original remarks. In the last section of the paper I present the skeptical tradition as a certain way of being, which has some significant moral qualities.
PL
Artykuł stanowi próbę ukazania wiarygodności filozofii sceptycznej oraz jej ścisłego związku z mądrością. Objaśniam w nim podstawowe założenia sceptycyzmu, które staram się następnie zrewidować w kontekście kilku nowoczesnych „tropów sceptycznych” (retoryczny charakter wszelkiej argumentacji, gry językowe L. Wittgensteina, hermeneutyczna koncepcja wiedzy). Uwzględniając najczęściej spotykane zarzuty w stosunku do filozofii sceptycznej, objaśniam ich ograniczenia, powołując się na uwagi Sekstusa Empiryka. W ostatniej części artykułu ukazuję sceptycyzm jako pewien sposób bycia, który posiada istotne walory moralne.
first rewind previous Page / 1 next fast forward last
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.