Scepticism

Question 1

What are the core concepts of ancient scepticism?

Answer 1

Belief, suspension of judgement, criterion of truth, appearances, and investigation

Question 2

Why do sceptics experience suspension of judgement?

Answer 2

They are struck by the discrepancies among impressions and aim to resolve this disturbance by settling what is true and false, but this investigation leads them to suspension of judgement

Question 3

What are the ten modes concerned with?

Answer 3

Conflicting appearances

Question 4

What are the five modes concerned with?

Answer 4

Argument or proof

Question 5

What does suspension of judgement lead to?

Answer 5

Freedom from disturbance

Question 6

How does a sceptic investigate?

Answer 6

The sceptic puts appearances and thoughts into opposition, which generates equipollence between several appearances and thoughts, and as such leads to suspension of judgement

Question 7

Why do the sceptics believe that all claims are equal?

Answer 7

One cannot know the truth behind any claim, so they have to be acknowledged as equal

Question 8

How does persuasion work?

Answer 8

Things that persuade us aren’t necessarily true, as it does not persuade everyone and persuasiveness arises on the basis of externals, such as the speaker’s reputation, charm or familiarity

Question 9

Why do causes not exist?

Answer 9

Causes are relative, for they are relative to something causable. But relatives are only conceptual objects and do not exist. Just as a father would not be a father should someone of whom he is the father not exist, so too for a cause

Question 10

Why do the sceptics claim there is no motion?

Answer 10

There is no motion, as that which is moved is moved in the place of that which is or in the place of that which is not. It cannot be moved in either.

Question 11

What are the ten modes?

Answer 11

1. Arguments concerning oppositions based on differences between animals
2. Arguments based on differences among human beings (differences between body and in soul)
3. Arguments based on the differences between the senses and on the complexity of perceived objects
4. Arguments based on states, dispositions and conditions of a human being (age, motion) and how these affect perception
5. Arguments based on positions, distances, and places
6. Arguments based on mixtures (objects in conjunction with external things like air and humidity)
7. Arguments based on the composition of the perceived object
8. Arguments based on relativity (comparison of things with each other)
9. Arguments based on vibrancy or rarity of occurrences, as things are judged differently (earthquakes)
10. Arguments concerned with ways of life, customs, laws, mythical beliefs and dogmatic assumptions, all of which can be put into opposition with each other

Question 12

What are the modes of Agrippa?

Answer 12

1. The mode that argues from disagreement: there is conflict between the views of ordinary life and the views held by philosophers. Due to this, we are unable to choose or reject one thing, and just fall back on suspension
2. Arguments that throw one into infinite regress: for a given matter to be credible it needs yet something else to make it credible, and so on to ad Infinitum. Since we have no starting point, suspension of judgement follows.
3. Arguments from relativity. X only ever appears so in relation to the subject judging and to the things observed together with it. Suspension of how X really is follows.
4. Arguments from hypothesis: someone makes an assumption without providing an example (solution to infinite regress). The hypothesis could be false, opposite hypotheses provided and so on.
5. Arguments of circularity: this occurs when that which ought to confirm an investigated matter itself requires confirmation from that matter. We are unable to assume either in order to establish the other