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Instructors: Dr. Chiara Rover; Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Veltri
Event type:
Advanced seminar
Displayed in timetable as:
Hours per week:
2
Language of instruction:
English
Min. | Max. participants:
- | 15
Comments/contents:
Can we be certain that we are not dreaming? Exploring the Foundations of Scepticism
In Plato’s Theaetetus, Socrates asks Theaetetus what proof (tekmerion) could be offered to someone questioning whether, at this very moment, we are awake and discussing or if we are asleep and dreaming. The quest for “proof” of the veracity of our knowledge emerged as a pivotal issue in the philosophical discourse of the Hellenistic age. Philosophers were divided between those who believed in the existence of a criterion of truth (criterion tes aletheias) and the so-called sceptics, who deemed it more appropriate to “suspend judgment” (epoche), seen as the sole path to achieving imperturbability (atarassia). Yet, without a criterion, how can we navigate life?
During the seminar, we will delve into this question by reconstructing the fundamental aspects and concepts of the history of “scepticism” in Antiquity. We will begin by examining some of the testimonies we have on Arcesilaus of Pitane and Pyrrho of Elis, analysing their (possible) indebtedness to Plato’s Theaetetus. Our investigation will then follow the development of the two primary branches of scepticism: the Academic (rooted in Socrates) and the Pyrrhonian (purportedly grounded in Pyrrho). We will highlight both continuity and discontinuity, finally examining how they could coexist in the approach of Philo of Alexandria, who incorporates Academic and Pyrrhonian elements into his sceptical methodology, presenting a unique perspective on the matter.
Literature:
Recommended bibliography:
- The primary literature texts that will be made available before the start of the seminar, in their original language (Greek and Latin) and in English translation.
- Bett, Richard (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Further readings (all the articles will be made available prior to the commencement of the seminar):
- Allen, James, “Radicalism and Moderation in the New Academy”. «Phronesis», 67/2, 2022, pp. 133-160
- Lévy, Carlos, “Philo of Alexandria vs. Descartes: An Ignored Jewish Premonitory Critic of the Cogito”. In Giuseppe Veltri et al. (eds.), Sceptical Paths: Enquiry and Doubt from Antiquity to the Present, Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter, 2019, pp. 5-22.
- Spinelli, Emidio, “Beyond the Theoretikos Bios: Philosophy and Praxis in Sextus Empiricus”. In Thomas Bénatouïl and Mauro Bonazzi (eds.), Theoria, Praxis and the Contemplative Life after Plato and Aristotle, Leiden: Brill, 2012, pp. 101-117.
- Tarrant, Harold, “The Theaetetus as a First Step on the Path to a New Academy”. In Beatriz Bossi and Thomas M. Robinson (eds.), Plato’s Theaetetus Revisited, Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter, 2020, pp. 225-250.
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