PYRRHO AND THE BEGINNING OF SCEPTICISM

Pyrrho of Elis (ca 360–270 bce), painter, student of atomism, of Indian philosophy, and certifiable eccentric was taken by the ancients to be the founder of scepticism. As usual, things are not quite so straightforward. The first sceptic of the philosophical schools was the Academic Arcesilaus (316/15–241/240 bce), perhaps some two generations younger. It is not implausible that Arcesilaus was inspired by Pyrrhonian philosophising but there is no direct evidence that he was. The Academic Aenesidemus' ‘Pyrrhonian revival’ in the first century bce certainly stakes itself to a Pyrrhonian inspiration, as indicated by two of the titles of his works – Pyrrhonian Discourses and Outline Introduction to Pyrrhonian Matters. It is, though, given the paucity of evidence, difficult to judge to what extent Pyrrho was more than a vivid personage whose name and notable character were his sole contributions to later scepticism.

In any case, the first century bce or ce Peripatetic philosopher Aristocles of Messene wrote an extensive and, as far as we can judge from the remaining fragments, acute history of philosophy in which he tries to summarise Pyrrho's philosophical position. The account is preserved for us by Eusebius, the fourth century bishop of Caesarea in his Praeparatio Evangelica. It contains most of what we know of Pyrrho apart from his colourful life and will serve as a useful starting-point for my account.