Sextus Empiricus was a Greek philosopher who lived in the second and third centuries AD. He is known for his skepticism, which was a school of thought that doubted the possibility of attaining knowledge with certainty. Sextus’s philosophy was a continuation of the skepticism of Pyrrho, but he developed it further by incorporating elements of Academic skepticism, which sought to undermine dogmatism in philosophy. Sextus’s skepticism was not a negative or destructive philosophy but rather a way of promoting intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and a critical attitude towards knowledge claims.
One of the key concepts in Sextus’s philosophy was the suspension of judgment. He believed that we should refrain from forming beliefs or making assertions about the nature of reality because we lack the capacity to know anything with certainty. Sextus argued that all knowledge claims were subject to doubt, and thus we should suspend judgment until we have sufficient evidence to support them. The suspension of judgment was not a passive or indecisive stance, but rather an active engagement with the world that required constant testing and evaluation of our beliefs.
Sextus also believed that there was no criterion of truth or falsity that could be used to determine the validity of knowledge claims. He argued that all criteria of truth were themselves subject to doubt, and thus we could not rely on any external standard to verify our beliefs. Instead, Sextus proposed that we should rely on our own experience and perception to form our beliefs. We should not accept anything on faith, authority, or tradition but rather subject everything to empirical testing and investigation.
Another central tenet of Sextus’s philosophy was the relativity of knowledge. He argued that all knowledge claims were relative to the context in which they were made. For example, what may be true in one culture or time period may not be true in another. Sextus believed that knowledge was always provisional and subject to revision based on new evidence or changing circumstances. He argued that we should be open to revising our beliefs and accepting new evidence that challenged our existing assumptions.
Sextus also developed a series of skeptical arguments that aimed to show the limitations of human knowledge. For example, he argued that our senses were unreliable and subject to illusions, and thus we could not trust them to provide us with accurate knowledge about the world. He also argued that our beliefs were influenced by our cultural and historical context, and thus we could not claim to have access to universal or objective knowledge.
In addition to his skepticism, Sextus also proposed a method of inquiry known as the Pyrrhonian mode. This method involved suspending judgment about a particular claim or belief and examining the arguments for and against it. The goal of this method was not to arrive at a definitive conclusion but rather to promote critical thinking and intellectual humility. Sextus believed that by using this method, we could avoid dogmatism and the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Sextus’s philosophy had a significant influence on later philosophers, particularly in the early modern period. His skepticism was a precursor to the Cartesian method of doubt, which aimed to subject all beliefs to rigorous scrutiny. Sextus’s emphasis on empirical testing and the relativity of knowledge also anticipated the scientific method, which emphasizes the importance of empirical observation and the provisional nature of scientific knowledge.
In conclusion, Sextus Empiricus’s philosophy was characterized by skepticism, which sought to undermine dogmatism in philosophy and promote intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and a critical attitude towards knowledge claims. His philosophy emphasized the suspension of judgment, the relativity of knowledge, and the use of the Pyrrhonian mode of inquiry to promote critical thinking. Sextus’s skepticism had a significant influence on later philosophers and anticipated the scientific method in its emphasis on empirical testing and the provisional nature of knowledge.