Key Takeaways
1. Pyrrhonism: A Practice of Suspended Judgment, Not Dogmatic Scepticism
Pyrrhonism is commonly confused with scepticism in Western philosophy.
A unique philosophy. Pyrrhonism, unlike other ancient Western philosophies, is not a theory or belief system, but a distinct way of life. Developed by Pyrrho of Elis and articulated by Sextus Empiricus, it advocates for suspending judgment on all beliefs concerning nonevident matters. This contrasts sharply with Academic Scepticism, which dogmatically asserts that no true beliefs can be apprehended, thereby becoming a negative form of dogmatism itself.
Beyond doubt. While Pyrrhonists were called "sceptics" in the original Greek sense of "inquirer," their aim was not to doubt everything, but to investigate whether claims could be confirmed by self-evident experience. If not, they didn't deny the claims but suspended judgment. Academic Sceptics, however, took doubt as an end, concluding that all knowledge was impossible, even questioning evident sensory experience.
Avoiding dogmatism. Pyrrhonists accept the immediate, involuntary experiences of sensations and thoughts as evident. They question only beliefs that go beyond these appearances, recognizing that such beliefs are inherently unstable and lead to anxiety. By suspending judgment, they avoid both positive dogmatism (asserting a truth about the nonevident) and negative dogmatism (asserting the impossibility of knowing the nonevident).
2. Ataraxia: The Tranquility Born of Non-Belief
By suspending judgment on beliefs, Pyrrhonists seek to liberate themselves from attachment to things nonevident; having achieved this, they claim a certain tranquility (ataraxia) follows.
Liberation from suffering. The ultimate goal of Pyrrhonism is ataraxia, a state of tranquility or freedom from agitation. This peace of mind arises directly from the suspension of judgment about nonevident beliefs. Since beliefs about the nonevident are inherently uncertain and subject to contradiction, they generate anxiety and fear, compounding human suffering.
Beyond emotion. Ataraxia is not merely cheerfulness or good spirits, which can be rooted in dogmatic views and thus vulnerable to refutation. Instead, it is a profound freedom from the emotional turbulence caused by clinging to any particular view or attachment. This state allows one to experience life without the elation or dread that beliefs often introduce.
Spontaneous living. With beliefs suspended, the Pyrrhonist is free to respond to immediate experience without distortion. Appearances are appreciated for what they are, unclouded by preconceived notions. This leads to a nondogmatic way of life, where actions arise spontaneously from circumstances and natural feelings, rather than from the imperatives of unsubstantiated beliefs.
3. Pyrrho's Indian Journey: Reinventing Buddhism in Greece
This led him [Pyrrho] to adopt a most noble philosophy, to quote Ascanius of Abdera, taking the form of agnosticism and suspension of judgment.
Eastern inspiration. Pyrrho's travels with Alexander the Great to India in the 4th century BCE, where he encountered Indian sages, are cited as the origin of his "most noble philosophy." This historical connection suggests a plausible influence from Eastern nondogmatic soteriological traditions, particularly Madhyamaka Buddhism.
Shared core principles. Both Pyrrhonism and Madhyamaka Buddhism emphasize:
- A radical undogmatic stance regarding metaphysical beliefs.
- Suspension of judgment (epoche / sunyata) as a precondition for liberation.
- The use of dialectical arguments (e.g., the quadralemma) to expose contradictions in dogmatic views.
- The ultimate goal of liberation from suffering (ataraxia / nirvana).
A therapeutic approach. Like the Buddha, Pyrrho focused on a practical therapy for easing suffering, rather than developing a philosophical theory. The shared emphasis on dismantling attachments to fixed views, whether affirmative or negative, points to a common insight into the nature of human distress and its remedy. This suggests a "reinvention" of similar insights in a Greek idiom, rather than a direct transmission of doctrines.
4. Appearances: The Self-Evident Reality, Unclouded by Belief
When we investigate whether existing things are such as they appear, we grant that they appear, and what we investigate is not what is apparent but what is said about what is apparent.
The ultimate criterion. For Pyrrhonists, appearances (phainomena for sensations, noomena for thoughts) are the sole criterion of action and existence. They are immediate, direct, and involuntary experiences that "shine forth" and are self-differentiated. Unlike mainstream Western philosophy, Pyrrhonism does not view appearances as a synthesis of form and content, nor as mere illusions.
Beyond explanation. Appearances are taken at face value; they are what they appear to be, no more and no less. There is no need to explain them away by postulating hidden, nonevident realities or abstract entities like forms or essences. The problem arises when dogmatists make claims about appearances, rather than simply accepting them as they are.
Trusting experience. Illusions or anomalies, such as an oar appearing bent in water, are not seen as evidence that our senses are unreliable. Instead, they highlight mistaken assumptions or beliefs we hold about those appearances. By suspending these interpretive beliefs, the Pyrrhonist finds no reason to doubt the phenomena themselves, which remain trustworthy guides to life.
5. Distinguishing the Evident from the Evidently Nonevident
There are four distinct classes of objects [pragmata, or ‘facts’]—one being that of things manifest, the second of things absolutely nonevident, the third of things naturally nonevident, the fourth of things temporarily so.
Mapping reality. Pyrrhonism meticulously categorizes what is evident and nonevident to clarify the scope of knowledge and belief.
- Manifest/Evident: Direct sensations and thoughts (e.g., seeing a blue sky).
- Temporarily Nonevident: Things that can be made evident (e.g., Athens when one is far away).
- Absolutely Nonevident: Things whose nature can never be apprehended (e.g., whether stars are even or odd in number).
- Naturally Nonevident: Things that are everlastingly hidden and cannot present themselves clearly to perception (e.g., the soul, the Void, abstract forms).
The indeterminate self. The "naturally nonevident" category is crucial, as it's where dogmatists often posit beliefs (e.g., defining the soul or God). For Pyrrhonists, the soul or consciousness is evidently nonevident—it's implied as the indeterminate subject of appearances, but cannot be characterized as an object. This parallels the Buddhist concept of "emptiness" (sunyata) as the non-objectivity of things, including the self.
Avoiding false claims. The Pyrrhonist's goal is to suspend judgment on claims about the naturally nonevident, recognizing that such claims are inherently indeterminate and cannot be substantiated. This prevents the confusion of what is merely implied or absent with what is concretely present and observable, thereby eliminating a major source of dogmatic conflict.
6. Signs: The Bridge Between Knowledge and Illusory Beliefs
We argue not against all signs but only against indicative signs, which seem to be a fiction of the Dogmatists.
Two kinds of signs. Pyrrhonists distinguish between two types of signs:
- Recollective (Commemorative) Signs: These signify something temporarily nonevident because the sign and the signified have been, or can be, observed together (e.g., smoke signifies fire). These are valid and form the basis of scientific knowledge and everyday life.
- Indicative Signs: These purport to signify nonevident things "from their proper nature and constitution" (e.g., bodily movements as signs of the soul). These are deemed "fictions of the Dogmatists" because the signified cannot be made evident.
The trap of language. Dogmatists misuse language by treating indicative signs as if they represent definite, independently existing realities. For example, the word "soul" is an empty placeholder into which various, often contradictory, contents can be projected. This leads to beliefs that cannot be substantiated, fostering contention and anxiety.
Relativity of signification. Signification itself is a relation, not an independent entity. Just as "cause" is not a separate link in a chain of events but the relation between links, a "sign" is not an object in itself but one evident thing used to point to another temporarily nonevident thing. When a sign purports to represent something naturally nonevident, it becomes a source of confusion and suffering, as it attempts to make the indeterminate determinate.
7. The Pyrrhonian Life: Spontaneous Action, Free from Dogma
Attending to what is apparent, we live in accordance with everyday observances, without holding opinions—for we are not able to be utterly inactive.
A practical framework. Pyrrhonists live by a four-point program of "everyday observances":
- Guidance by nature: Perceiving and thinking through sensations and thoughts.
- Necessitation by feelings: Responding to involuntary compulsions like hunger or thirst.
- Handing down of laws and customs: Accepting social conventions pragmatically, without adherence to underlying beliefs.
- Teaching of kinds of expertise: Engaging in scientific inquiry to understand correlations among appearances.
Active, not passive. This is not a life of passivity or indifference to all things. Instead, it's a life of spontaneous, appropriate action, unburdened by the distortions of dogmatic beliefs. When confronted with injustice or cruelty, a Pyrrhonist, free from rationalizing beliefs, would react directly to the evident repulsiveness of the situation, potentially leading to compassionate resistance.
Freedom from will. For Pyrrhonists, willful activity often stems from beliefs and attachments, leading to distortions of experience. By suspending judgment, one is liberated from this distorting will, allowing for a natural flow of thoughts and sensations. This enables a full, engaged life, where actions arise from direct experience rather than from the imposition of unsubstantiated views.
8. Modern Resonances: Berkeley and Wittgenstein's Unwitting Pyrrhonism
The book’s point is an ethical one. I once meant to include in the preface a sentence which is not in fact there now, but which I will write out for you here, because it will perhaps be a key to the work for you. What I meant to write, then, was this: My work consists of two parts: the one presented here plus all that I have not written. And it is precisely this second part that is the important one.
Independent rediscoveries. Despite Pyrrhonism's marginalization, its core insights have been independently rediscovered by modern Western philosophers. George Berkeley, the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop, famously argued "esse is percipi" (to be is to be perceived), asserting that appearances are reality and rejecting the notion of an independently existing external world. He dismantled the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, echoing Pyrrhonian critiques of abstract ideas, though he ultimately grounded his philosophy in a dogmatic belief in God.
Wittgenstein's silent wisdom. Ludwig Wittgenstein, a 20th-century Austrian philosopher, developed a philosophy that remarkably parallels Pyrrhonism, despite his apparent unfamiliarity with ancient texts. He argued that "what can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence." He emphasized that doubt presupposes certainty, and that the "logical form" or "forms" of objects—their inherent structure—can only be shown, not said or described.
A path to clarity. Wittgenstein's later work, with its focus on "language games" and the limits of representation, aligns with the Pyrrhonian goal of clarifying what is evident and exposing the "nonsense" of claims about the nonevident. Both philosophers, in their unique ways, demonstrated that a profound understanding of experience can be achieved by recognizing the boundaries of what can be known and by suspending judgment on what lies beyond.
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