Western Philosophy
The Spiritual Value of Skepticism
A Summary of “Outlines of Pyrrhonism” by Sextus Empiricus (200 CE)
Pyrrhonism is an ancient Greek philosophy founded by Pyrrho of Elis in the 4th century BCE. Pyrrho taught that emotional disturbances are caused by false beliefs, and so he emphasized the importance of suspending judgment about non-evident matters.
Pyrrho traveled with Alexander the Great’s army to India, where he mixed with Zoroastrian magi and Indian ascetics. It is likely that he was influenced by Buddhist thought during this time, as there are significant similarities between Buddhist and Pyrrhonist ideas.
However, many of these similarities are found in the work of the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, who lived some 600 years after Pyrrho. It is therefore speculated that early Pyrrhonism was influenced by early Buddhism, but, in return, the later Pyrrhonian texts influenced later Buddhism.
One of those texts, named “Outlines of Pyrrhonism”, was written by Sextus Empiricus in the 2nd century CE. In it, Sextus provides a systematic account of the entire Pyrrhonian philosophy, as it had developed over the prior 600 years. Of particular importance is the concept of “epoché”, which we shall explore throughout this article.
