Early on in the Outlines of Pyrrhonism (PH), Sextus Empiricus offers an account of τὸ τέλος τῆς σκεπτικῆς—the aim or final end of Pyrrhonian skepticism. Having previously explained such crucial aspects of Pyrrhonism as the sense in which Skeptics do not hold any beliefs and what its constitutive principles are, in sections I 25-30 Sextus turns to what he seems to regard as the equally important matter of what the aim of Skepticism is. He tells us, An aim [τέλος] is (...) that for the sake of which everything is done or considered, while it is not done or considered for the sake of anything else. Or: an aim is the final object of desire. Up to now we say the aim of the Skeptic is tranquility [ἀταραξία] in matters of opinion and moderation of feeling [μετριοπάθεια] in matters forced on us. (PH I.25)2 In the sense of ‘ethics’ relevant to the Ancients, this constitutes Sextus’ major pronouncement on ethics in the general survey of Skepticism contained in PH I, apart from the specific arguments of the Tenth Mode (PH I 145-163). It is perhaps unsurprising that Sextus’ ethics, the heart of which is evident even in the.. (shrink)

In this paper I take a closer look at Sextus Empiricus’ arguments in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism I.25-30 and try to make sense of his account of Skepticism as a goal-directed philosophy. I argue that Sextus fails to mount a convincing case for the view that tranquility, rather than suspension of judgment, is the ultimate goal of his inquiries.

Aristocles of Messene is a first century AD Aristotelian philosopher who discusses the thought of ancient Greek philosophers, including Plato, Zeno, Pyrrho, and Epicurus, as well as Eleatic and Cyrenaic philosophies. His main contribution is his testimony on Pyrrhonism, and his political verve makes his On Philosophy an interesting and amusing read for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Uno de los documentos de la Antigüedad que más atención susci-ta en los años recientes es el llamado Vidas de los filósofos de Diógenes Laercio. Una nueva edición del texto griego salió a la luz en 1999 y otra más está en preparación. A pesar de que durante mucho tiempo se consideró este tratado solamente como un nutrido testimonio doxográfico, y a la persona misma de Diógenes como un transmisor poco fiable de noticias, para la historia de la filosofía es (...) parte de la tradición material que necesariamente ha resultado indis-pensable en la construcción de nuestra visión de la filosofía griega hoy en día. El libro completo reporta los testimonios de al menos ochenta y cinco personalidades que hicieron parte del panorama intelectual de la antigua Grecia. De cada una de esas personalidades se dan tanto noticias sobre su vida como resúmenes de su actividad filosófica y ci-tas presuntamente literales de sus obras. (shrink)