Second Century C.E.
Sceptic Philosopher

Sceptical Philosophy. Pyrrhon of Elis (365-275 B.C.E.) established a branch of the Academy known as the Sceptic school. The central theory of the Sceptics was the impossibility of absolute knowledge of anything. Socrates, in fact, was the model of this teaching, for in Plato's dialogues Socrates never arrives at a positive answer, but only refutes false views. Philon of Larissa dealt with this problem through the willingness to accept the probable in the absence of absolute certainty. The Skeptics, however, held that the wise thing to do was to withhold judgment about the reality of things.

Philosopher-Doctor. This approach was resumed in Rome by Sextus Empiricus, who lived in the middle of the second century C.E. Little is known about his life, other than that he was a doctor. His radical scepticism, sometimes called Pyrrhonism, set it...