Showing papers on "Pyrrhonism published in 2021"

How to Be a Pyrrhonist: The Practice and Significance of Pyrrhonian Skepticism

Abstract: What was it like to be a practitioner of Pyrrhonist skepticism? This important volume brings together for the first time a selection of Richard Bett's essays on ancient Pyrrhonism, allowing readers a better understanding of the key aspects of this school of thought. The volume examines Pyrrhonism's manner of self-presentation, including its methods of writing, its desire to show how special it is, and its use of humor; it considers Pyrrhonism's argumentative procedures regarding specific topics, such as signs, space, or the Modes; and it explores what it meant in practice to live as a Pyrrhonist, including the kind of ethical outlook which Pyrrhonism might allow and, in general, the character of a skeptical life - and how far these might strike us as feasible or desirable. It also shows how Pyrrhonism often raises questions that matter to us today, both in our everyday lives and in our philosophical reflection.

Augustine’s and Montaigne’s Deployments of Skepticism Against Religious Rationalism

Abstract: This chapter examines one of the sources of Montaigne’s use of skepticism against the Reformation in his Apology for Raymond Sebond, namely, Augustine’s deployment of Academic skepticism against Manicheanism. The particular kind of religious rationalism combatted by Montaigne and the political danger it posed in his time required a radicalization of the kind of skepticism employed. Montaigne thus used Pyrrhonism instead of Academic skepticism.

“What a Foolish Project He Had to Paint His Own Portrait!”: The Influence of Montaigne’s “Straightforward Pyrrhonism” in the Rise of Pascal’s Self

Abstract: The influence exerted by Montaigne on the author of the Pensees is well known, as explicitly indicated in Pascal’s “Discussion with Monsieur de Sacy.” Although there are many studies dedicated to clarifying the concrete role that the supposed “straightforward Pyrrhonism” of the Essais would have had in Pascal’s apologetic use of skepticism, very few have addressed in any detail the essayist’s contribution to Pascal’s critique of the metaphysical idea of the human being and his critique of the Cartesian ego. In this paper I will try to expand on this point, which seems to me much more relevant to understanding the relationship between Montaigne and Pascal.

Subatomic Particles, Epistemic Stances, and Kantian Antinomies

Abstract: In Scientific Ontology, Chakravartty diagnoses a “dramatic conflict” between empiricism and metaphysics and aims to overcome that conflict by opting for a modern-day variant of Pyrrhonism, i.e. by appreciating the equal strength (isostheneia) of the arguments for and against the empiricist and metaphysical positions, and by achieving tranquility (ataraxia) by suspending judgment or remaining speechless in the face of that isostheneia. In this paper, I want to argue that instead of remaining speechless in the face of the isostheneia of the arguments for and against the empiricist and metaphysical positions, we should adopt a position that remains underrated in Chakravartty’s analysis: a position that amounts to a modern-day variant of the Kantian combination of transcendental idealism and empirical realism, and that like the original Kantian combination, is capable of solving many instances of the dramatic conflict between empiricism and metaphysics and, in particular, a conflict that is the talk of the town in philosophy of science these days—the conflict between ontic-structural realism and Lewisian metaphysics.

Skepticism and Clandestine Literature: Doutes des Pyrrhoniens

Abstract: The latest studies on clandestine philosophical literature reveal the importance of this corpus to understanding how skeptical arguments were transmitted and modified in early modern Europe. We will try to show this by means of an anonymous text likely written before 1711 and entitled Doutes des pyrrhoniens (Bibliotheque Royale de Belgique, Cabinet des manuscrits fonds general, Inv. No. 15191). The manuscript is composed of eight chapters or doubts and distinguishes a “more moderate pyrrhonism” from a “furious pyrrhonism”. The latter, relying on the fraudulent character of all religions, wants to erase them from the face of the earth; the former, “a little more philosophical”, admits the existence of a God and is not even against religions: only the question of the origin and function of these institutions is allowed. Our main argument will be that the difference between these two forms of Pyrrhonism is less epistemological than it is political. Indeed, both forms agree that religion is a manifestation of social power that has nothing to do with an alleged divine revelation. The question is no longer about the truth of religion, but about whether or not it is advisable to abandon it as a regulatory component of society.