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greek-epistemologyfeatured in 3 works

The Modes of Skepticism

The skeptics' toolkit: a numbered set of standard arguments — ten of them, then a tighter five — engineered to suspend judgment by showing that every claim can be opposed.

The modes (tropoi) are the ready-made argument patterns the Pyrrhonist skeptics used to bring on suspension of judgment (epoche). The Ten Modes, linked to Aenesidemus (1st c. BCE), pile up the ways perception varies — across animals, people, the senses, and circumstances — to show that things appear differently and so cannot be judged as they really are. The later Five Modes of Agrippa are sharper and more logical: dispute, infinite regress, relativity, hypothesis, and circular reasoning. They anticipate the regress problem that still troubles epistemology today. Both sets survive chiefly through Sextus Empiricus (c. 200 CE).

How it traveled

  1. Adversus Mathematicos
    Alexandria · 190
    explains
  2. Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes
    Alexandria · 210
    explains
  3. Vitae philosophorum
    — · 240
    explains

Key passages(20)

Origin Anchor — gr-skeptic-modes↗origin

Fragments & Testimonia · Aenesidemus

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Aenesidemus, Testimonia 1↗defines

Aenesidemus: Fragments & Testimonia · Aenesidemus

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Arcesilaus, Testimonia 1↗defines

Arcesilaus: Fragments & Testimonia · Arcesilaus

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Carneades, Testimonia 1↗defines

Carneades: Fragments & Testimonia · Carneades

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.79↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.82↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.85↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.87↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.88↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 9.11.89↗explains

Vitae philosophorum · Diogenes Laertius

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Eusebius of Caesarea, Praeparatio Evangelica 14.18.11↗explains

Praeparatio Evangelica · Eusebius of Caesarea

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.100↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.124↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.129↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.135↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.141↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.144↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.145↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.163↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 1.14.36↗explains

Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes · Sextus Empiricus

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