Pyrrhonism

Pyrrhonism is an Ancient Greek school of philosophical skepticism which rejects dogma and advocates the suspension of judgement over the truth of all beliefs. It was founded by Aenesidemus in the first century BCE, and said to have been inspired by the teachings of Pyrrho and Timon of Phlius in the fourth century BCE.

Pyrrhonism is best known today through the surviving works of Sextus Empiricus, writing in the late second century or early third century CE. The publication of Sextus’ works in the Renaissance ignited a revival of interest in Skepticism and played a major role in Reformation thought and the development of early modern philosophy.

wikipedia/en/Pyrrhonism

Roman Pyrrhonism vs. other Pyrrhonism: types and differences

Pyrrhonism, a school of philosophical skepticism, emphasizes the suspension of judgment (epochē) to achieve tranquility (ataraxia). While Pyrrho of Elis (c. 370–c. 272 BCE) is considered its founder, his own writings are lost, and later Pyrrhonists expanded upon his ideas. 

In the Greco-Roman world, two major skeptical traditions existed: Pyrrhonism and Academic Skepticism. 

Academic skepticism

• Emerged from Plato’s Academy during the Hellenistic period.
• Asserted that knowledge is impossible, wikipedia/en/Academic_skepticism.
• Focused on refuting the dogmatic claims of other philosophical schools, particularly the Stoics.
• While acknowledging some moral guidance, they considered it merely plausible and did not uphold ataraxia as the central objective.
• Cicero’s “Academica” and “De natura deorum” are key sources of information on Academic skepticism. 

Pyrrhonism (Roman period)

• Roman Pyrrhonism flourished beginning several centuries after Pyrrho’s time, gaining prominence in the Roman period, wikipedia/en/Pyrrhonism.
• Aenesidemus, in the 1st century BCE, revitalized Pyrrhonism and developed the “ten tropes” or modes of skepticism, providing systematic arguments for suspending judgment.
• Sextus Empiricus (fl. mid-late 2nd century CE) is our most comprehensive source on Pyrrhonian skepticism through his surviving works, particularly “Outlines of Pyrrhonism”.
• Key difference from Academic skepticism: Pyrrhonists did not claim that knowledge was impossible but rather suspended judgment on all matters, including the possibility of knowledge itself.
• Pyrrhonists aimed for ataraxia, a state of freedom from disturbance, achieved by suspending judgment on theoretical questions and living according to appearances.
• They engaged in philosophical investigation, not to reach conclusions, but to demonstrate the equipollence (equal persuasiveness) of opposing arguments, leading to suspension of judgment. 

In essence, while Academic skepticism asserted the impossibility of knowledge, Pyrrhonism embraced a more radical stance of suspended judgment on all theoretical matters, including the possibility of knowledge itself, believing this path led to inner tranquility. The systematic arguments of Aenesidemus and the surviving writings of Sextus Empiricus illuminate this later form of Pyrrhonism that significantly influenced Western thought.