Description Of Pyrrhonism

II. Description of Pyrrhonism Skepticism The pyrrhonist skeptics arose sometime around the fourth century BCE and were made popular by Sextus Empiricus around the third century CE. The pyrrhonists were in conflict with two other philosophical schools, named the dogmatists and the academics. The dogmatists claimed that they have discovered truth, and thus know and hold truth. Sextus claims that Plato and Aristotle can be labeled as dogmatists. In contrast, the academics negate the dogmatists and claim that truth can never be discovered by humans. According to Sextus, the skeptic continues to investigate, seeking the truth. The skeptic believes that no one has discovered the truth nor that it is impossible to do so. In Outlines of Pyrrhonism, …show more content…
The first mode consists of the variety of animals and how each animal senses and perceives the world differently. Sextus uses this first mode to demonstrate that the perceptions that each animal perceives is different and that his relativism implies that we must withhold judgment on the way things appear. The second mode highlights the differences between humans, in that we each have different mental and physical capacities. These differences also highlight the subjectivity between the way things appear to each individual. Thus, one must suspend judgment on what the senses give us. The third mode highlights that the different sense organs deliver different information about an object in the world. These different impressions are not the same, thus it demonstrates that objects in the world remain relative to humans. The fourth mode claims that circumstantial conditions alter our perception of the world. For example, a snowy day alters how we perceive an object, or when an individual is ill, that person has a different perception from when she is healthy. The fifth mode highlights that objects appear different in different positions, and at different distances. These differences alter one’s perception, therefore one must suspend judgment. The sixth mode claims that perception is never direct, there typically is another object that alters that object. For instance, a medium like rain, fog, or mist blocks the object and alters our perception of it. The seventh mode demonstrates that objects appear different according to variations in their quantity, color, motion, and temperature. These differences highlight the need to suspend judgment on impressions. The eighth mode claims that one should suspend judgement because objects may be familiar or unfamiliar to an individual. The ninth mode highlights that all supposed knowledge is