Skepticism
Questioning whether certain or absolute knowledge is possible.
Overview
The Skeptics argued that for every philosophical claim, an equally compelling counter-argument can be found. Since we can never be truly certain our beliefs are correct, the path to tranquility is epoche — the suspension of judgment. Rather than clinging to beliefs and suffering when they're challenged, we should accept the limits of human knowledge. This isn't nihilism — it's intellectual humility taken to its logical conclusion.
Origins
Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-270 BCE) pioneered Skepticism after traveling with Alexander the Great to India, where he encountered radically different belief systems. If equally intelligent people hold contradictory beliefs, how can anyone claim certainty? Later Skeptics like Sextus Empiricus developed this into a rigorous philosophical method that influenced Descartes, Hume, and the scientific method itself.
Key Thinkers (5)
Sextus Empiricus
160 CE – 210 CE
For every argument there exists an equal counter-argument; therefore we should suspend judgment.
Michel de Montaigne
1533 CE – 1592 CE
What do I know? Self-examination reveals the limits of human knowledge and the diversity of human experience.
Blaise Pascal
1623 CE – 1662 CE
The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.
Voltaire
1694 CE – 1778 CE
Crush fanaticism; champion reason, tolerance, and freedom of thought and expression.
David Hume
1711 CE – 1776 CE
All knowledge derives from experience; reason alone cannot establish matters of fact.