Position

Pyrrhonian Suspension

For every claim an equally strong opposing claim can be found, so one should suspend judgment (epoché) on all matters beyond how things appear.

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Classification

Position level
specific
Domains
Epistemology

Overview

The Pyrrhonist does not assert that nothing can be known — that would itself be a dogmatic claim. Instead, finding the case for and against every thesis evenly balanced, they withhold assent and report only how things appear. The tranquility (ataraxia) that dogmatists sought by finding the truth is said to follow, unexpectedly, from suspending judgment instead, as a shadow follows a body. The Pyrrhonist does not stop investigating, and the calm does not wait for the question to be settled.

Position on

Held by traditions

  • Pyrrhonism

    Question scope: The Possibility of Knowledge

Broader position

Rival positions

References