School of thought

Academic Skepticism

School

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Classification

Period
c. 266-84 BCE
Regions
Europe (origin)
Domains
Epistemology

Overview

Academic Skepticism emerged within Plato's Academy under Arcesilaus and Carneades and challenged the Stoic claim that some impressions guarantee their own truth. Carneades developed graded persuasive impressions to show how inquiry and action could proceed without a Stoic criterion of certainty. Ancient reports and modern interpreters disagree over whether he endorsed this account himself or offered it dialectically against the Stoics.

Key ideas

  • Against the Stoic Criterion: Academic arguments deny that any sense-impression carries the self-guaranteeing mark of truth claimed by the Stoics. On a dialectical reading, these arguments expose consequences of Stoic premises without stating the Academics' own doctrine.
  • Persuasive Impressions: Carneades distinguished grades of persuasiveness and described how a person could examine and act on the strongest impressions. Whether this was his own doctrine or a dialectical reply to the Stoics is disputed.
  • Academic Dialectic: The Academics used Academic Dialectic, arguing on both sides and from opponents' premises, to test positions without thereby adopting the resulting conclusions.

Key figures

Arcesilaus · Carneades · Cicero

Methods used

Positions held

  • Academic Fallibilism

    Carneades developed the persuasive-impression criterion in reply to Stoic objections that skepticism made action impossible. Whether he endorsed it as his own doctrine or advanced it dialectically remains disputed.

    Question scope: The Possibility of Knowledge

Influenced by

  • Platonism

    Arcesilaus claimed as his model Socrates' practice in Plato's dialogues, which refutes a claim to knowledge using only premises the claimant accepts, and Cicero's history has him following Socrates and Plato in concluding that nothing can be known.

Reacts to

References