Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism

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Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism, by

Mary Mills Patrick This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism
Author: Mary Mills Patrick
Release Date: January 20, 2006 [EBook #17556]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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SEXTUS EMPIRICUS AND GREEK SCEPTICISM
A Thesis accepted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Bern Switzerland, November 1897
by
MARY MILLS PATRICK
PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE, CONSTANTINOPLE TURKEY
This Thesis is accompanied by a Translation from the Greek of the First Book of the "Pyrrhonic Sketches" by Sextus Empiricus
CAMBRIDGE
DEIGHTON BELL & CO.
LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS
1899
CAMBRIDGE
PRINTED BY JONATHAN PALMER
ALEXANDRA STREET

PREFACE
The following treatise on Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism has been prepared to supply a need much felt in the English language by students of Greek philosophy. For while other schools of Greek philosophy have been exhaustively and critically discussed by English scholars, there are few sources of information available to the student who wishes to make himself familiar with the teachings of Pyrrhonism. The aim has been, accordingly, to give a concise presentation of Pyrrhonism in relation to its historical development and the Scepticism of the Academy, with critical references to the French and German works existing on the subject. The time and manner of the connection of Sextus Empiricus with the Pyrrhonean School has also been discussed.
As the First Book of the Hypotyposes, or Pyrrhonic Sketches by Sextus Empiricus, contains the substance of the teachings of Pyrrhonism, it has been hoped that a translation of it into English might prove a useful contribution to the literature on Pyrrhonism, and this translation has been added to the critical part of the work.
In making this translation, and in the general study of the works of Sextus, the Greek text of Immanuel Bekker, Berlin, 1842, has been used, with frequent consultation of the text of J.A. Fabricius, 1718, which was taken directly from the existing manuscripts of the works of Sextus. The divisions into chapters, with the headings of the chapters in the translation, is the same as Fabricius gives from the manuscripts, although not used by Bekker, and the numbers of the paragraphs are the same as those given by both Fabricius and Bekker. References to Diogenes Laertius and other ancient works have been carefully verified.
The principal modern authors consulted are the following:
Ritter, Geschichte der Philosophie, II. Auf., Hamburg, 1836-38.
Zeller, Philosophie der Griechen, III. Auf., Leipzig, 1879-89.
Lewes, History of Philosophy, Vol. I., London, 1866.
Ueberweg, History of Philosophy, IV. ed., translated by Morris, 1871.
Brochard, Les Sceptiques Grecs, Paris, 1877.
Brochard, Pyrrhon et le Scepticism Primitive, No. 5, Ribot's Revue Phil., Paris, 1885.
Saisset, Le Scepticism Aenésidème-Pascal-Kant, Paris, 1867.
Chaignet, Histoire de la Psychologie des Grecs, Paris, 1887-90.
Haas, Leben des Sextus Empiricus, Burghausen, 1882.
Natorp, _Forschungen zur Geschichte des Erkenntnisproblems bei den Alten_, Berlin, 1884.
Hirzel, Untersuchungen zu Cicero's philosophischen Schriften, Leipzig, 1877-83.
Pappenheim, _Erl?uterung zu des Sextus Empiricus Pyrrhoneischen Grundzügen_, Heidelberg, 1882.
Pappenheim, Die Tropen der Greichischen Skeptiker, Berlin, 1885.
Pappenheim, Lebensverh?ltnisse des Sextus Empiricus, Berlin, 1887.
Pappenheim, _Der angebliche Heraclitismus des Skeptikers Ainesidemos_, Berlin, 1887.
Pappenheim, _Der Sitz der Schule der Griechischen Skeptiker, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie_, I. 1, S. 47, 1887.
Maccoll, The Greek Sceptics from Pyrrho to Sextus, London, 1869.
My grateful acknowledgments are due to Dr. Ludwig Stein, Professor of Philosophy in the University of Bern, for valuable assistance in relation to the plan of the work and advice in regard to the best authorities to be consulted. Thanks are also due to Dr. Louisos Iliou, of Robert College, Constantinople, for kind suggestions concerning the translation.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
THE HISTORICAL RELATIONS OF SEXTUS EMPIRICUS ... 1
Introductory paragraph.--The name of Sextus Empiricus. His profession.--The time when he lived.--The place of his birth.--The seat of the Sceptical School while Sextus was at its head.--The character of the writings of Sextus Empiricus.
CHAPTER II.
THE POSITION AND AIM OF PYRRHONIC SCEPTICISM ... 23
The subject-matter of the Hypotyposes.--The origin of Pyrrhonism.--The nomenclature of Pyrrhonism.--Its criterion.--Its aim.--[Greek: epochê] and [Greek: ataraxia].--The standpoint of Pyrrhonism.
CHAPTER III.
THE SCEPTICAL TROPES ... 31
Origin of the name.--The ten Tropes of [Greek: epochê].--The First Trope.--The Second Trope.--The Third Trope.--The Fourth Trope.--The Fifth Trope.--The Sixth Trope.--The Seventh Trope.--The Eighth Trope.--The Ninth Trope.--The Tenth Trope.--The five Tropes of Agrippa.--The two Tropes.--The Tropes of Aenesidemus against Aetiology.
CHAPTER IV.
AENESIDEMUS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF HERACLITUS ... 63
Statement of the problem.--The theory of Pappenheim.--The theory of Brochard.--Zeller's theory.--The theory of Ritter and Saisset.--The theory of Hirzel and Natorp.--Critical examination of the subject.
CHAPTER V.
CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF PYRRHONISM ... 81
Pyrrhonism and Pyrrho.--Pyrrhonism and the Academy. Strength and weakness of Pyrrhonism.
* * * * *
THE FIRST BOOK OF THE