How did Pyrrhonism differ from Academic skepticism?

The primary distinction between Pyrrhonism and Academic skepticism lies in their respective stances on the possibility of knowledge.

• Academic Skepticism: Developing within Plato’s Academy, philosophers like Arcesilaus and Carneades argued that certain knowledge is impossible. They maintained that no criteria exist to distinguish truth from falsehood, often advocating for the use of "reasonable" or "probable" standards instead.12
• Pyrrhonism: Pyrrhonists criticized the Academics for claiming to know "too much"—specifically, for asserting that nothing can be known or that some things are more probable than others. Pyrrhonists sought total epochē (suspension of judgment), refusing to affirm or deny the possibility of knowledge. They aimed for ataraxia (unperturbability) by living undogmatically according to appearances, customs, and natural inclinations rather than relying on probabilistic theories.13

While both schools practiced the suspension of judgment, the Academics adopted a more dogmatic stance by asserting the impossibility of knowledge, whereas the Pyrrhonists maintained a strictly neutral position to avoid the frustration of dogmatic claims.13