How to Be a Pyrrhonist : The Practice and Significance of Pyrrhonian Skepticism

What was it like to be a practitioner of Pyrrhonist skepticism? This important volume brings together for the first time a selection of Richard Bett's essays on ancient Pyrrhonism, allowing readers a better understanding of the key aspects of this school of thought. The volume examines Pyrrhonism's manner of self-presentation, including its methods of writing, its desire to show how special it is, and its use of humor; it considers Pyrrhonism's argumentative procedures regarding specific topics, such as signs, space, or the Modes; and it explores what it meant in practice to live as a Pyrrhonist, including the kind of ethical outlook which Pyrrhonism might allow and, in general, the character of a skeptical life - and how far these might strike us as feasible or desirable. It also shows how Pyrrhonism often raises questions that matter to us today, both in our everyday lives and in our philosophical reflection. Read more... "What was it like to be a practitioner of Pyrrhonist skepticism? This important volume brings together for the first time a selection of Richard Bett's essays on ancient Pyrrhonism, allowing readers a better understanding of the key aspects of this school of thought. The volume examines Pyrrhonism's manner of self-presentation, including its methods of writing, its desire to show how special it is, and its use of humor; it considers Pyrrhonism's argumentative procedures regarding specific topics, such as signs, space, or the Modes; and it explores what it meant in practice to live as a Pyrrhonist, including the kind of ethical outlook which Pyrrhonism might allow and, in general, the character of a skeptical life - and how far these might strike us as feasible or desirable. It also shows how Pyrrhonism often raises questions that matter to us today, both in our everyday lives and in our philosophical reflection."--Quatrième de couverture Part I. How the Pyrrhonists Present Themselves 1. The Pyrrhonist's dilemma: what to write if you have nothing to say 2. Why care whether scepticism is different from other philosophies? 3. Humor as philosophical subversion, especially in the sceptics Part II. Pyrrhonists at Work: Specific Topics 4. The sign in the Pyrrhonian tradition (OMITTED FROM THIS PDF) 5. Aenesidemus the anti-physicist 6. The modes in Sextus: theory and practice (OMITTED FROM THIS PDF) Part III. Life as a Pyrrhonist 7. What kind of self can a Greek sceptic have? 8. How ethical can an ancient sceptic be? 9. Living as a sceptic Part IV. Intersections of Pyrrhonism with Contemporary Thought 10. Can an ancient Greek sceptic be Eudaimon (or happy)? And what difference does the answer make to us? 11. On Pyrrhonism, stances, and believing what you want 12. Can we be ancient sceptics? Explores what it was like to be a practitioner of Pyrrhonist skepticism, and to what extent anything like it might be feasible today. The book examines the Pyrrhonists' manner of self-presentation, their argumentative procedures as applied to specific topics, and what it meant in practice to live as a Pyrrhonist.