Skepticism: References & Edit History

The basic statements and arguments of various forms of Skepticism are given in: (Academic Skepticism)—Cicero, Academica and De natura deorum, both with trans. by H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library (1956). (Pyrrhonian Skepticism)—Sextus Empiricus, Adversus Mathematicos, with trans. by R.G. Bury, Loeb Classical Library: vol. 1–2, Against the Logicians and Outlines of Pyrrhonism (1933–36); vol. 3, Against the Physicists, Against the Ethicists (1936); vol. 4, Against the Professors (1959–60); and Scepticism, Man and God: Selections from the Major Writings of Sextus Empiricus, ed. by P. Hallie, trans. by S.G. Etheridge (1964). (Renaissance Skepticism)—Michel de Montaigne, “L’Apologie de Raimond Sebond,” in Pierre Villey (ed.), Les Essais de Michel de Montaigne, new ed. (1922). (Skepticism and fideism)—Blaise Pascal, Pensées, ed. by L. Brunschvicg (1951). (Skepticism in relation to modern philosophy)—Pierre Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique, esp. the articles “Pyrrho” and “Zeno of Elea,” both of which appear in Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary: Selections, trans. and ed. by Richard H. Popkin (1965); David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, ed. by N. Kemp Smith (1947); Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, 2nd ed. (1957), and A Treatise of Human Nature, both ed. by L.A. Selby-Bigge (1958).

The standard studies of ancient Skepticism are: Edwyn R. Bevan, Stoics and Sceptics (1959); Victor Brochard, Les Sceptiques grecs (1887); Norman MacColl, The Greek Sceptics from Pyrrho to Sextus (1869); Mary Mills Patrick, The Greek Sceptics (1929); Leon Robin, Pyrrhon et le scepticisme grec (1944); and Eduard Zeller, The Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics, trans. by O.J. Reichel (1880). A fine modern study of the epistemological problems involved in ancient Skepticism is Charlotte L. Stough, Greek Skepticism (1969). See also Raoul Richter, Der Skeptizismus in der Philosophie (1904–08); Richard H. Popkin, “Skepticism,” Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 7, pp. 449–461 (1967), which contains a bibliography on the subject; these examine Skepticism from ancient times to the 19th century. John Owen, The Skeptics of the French Renaissance (1893), is an interesting discussion of Renaissance and 17th-century Skepticism, though not particularly scholarly. Don Cameron Allen, Doubt’s Boundless Sea: Skepticism and Faith in the Renaissance (1964); and Richard H. Popkin, The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes, rev. ed. (1968), which contains a lengthy bibliography, are studies of Renaissance Skepticism and its impact on philosophy and religion. Richard H. Popkin, “Berkeley and Pyrrhonism,” Review of Metaphysics, 5:223–246 (1951–52); “David Hume and the Pyrrhonian Controversy,” ibid., 6:65–81 (1952–53); “David Hume: His Pyrrhonism and His Critique of Pyrrhonism,” Philosophical Quarterly, 1:385–407 (1950–51); “The High Road to Pyrrhonism,” American Philosophical Quarterly, 2:1–15 (1965); “The Skeptical Crisis and the Rise of Modern Philosophy,” Review of Metaphysics, 7:132–151, 307–322, 499–510 (1953–54); “The Skeptical Precursors of David Hume,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 16:61–71 (1955–56); and “Scepticism in the Enlightenment,” in T. Bestermann (ed.), Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 26:1321–1345 (1963), are specialized studies on aspects of Skepticism in relation to modern philosophy. Arne Naess, Scepticism (1968), is a most interesting attempt to clarify Skepticism in relation to contemporary thought and to defend it as a viable outlook in modern times. Benson Mates, Skeptical Essays (1981), discusses epistemological problems and free will.