Misrepresenting Sextan Pyrrhonism

I've tried to dispel certain serious misunderstandings of Sextus Empiricus's Pyrrhonism in this paper that has just been published:

“Experimental Evidence against Pyrrhonism: Attacking a Straw Man,” Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review 61 (2022): 123–138.

Those interested can find it here.

Pyrrhonism in On Certainty

The latest issue of the Italian journal Elenchos (41/2, 2020) contains Roger Eichorn's “The Elusive Third Way: The Pyrrhonian Illumination in Wittgenstein’s On Certainty.” It can be found here.

Sextus on Ataraxia

My paper “Sextus on Ataraxia Revisited” was published a few days ago in the latest issue of Ancient Philosophy. In this paper, I offer further evidence and arguments in support of the view that the pursuit and the attainment of ataraxia are not defining features of Sextan Pyrrhonism, a view I originally defended in “The Pyrrhonist's ἀταραξία and φιλανθρωπία,” published in the same journal fourteen years ago.

Debunking Arguments

The latest issue of Philosophy Compass (vol. 24, issue 12, Dec. 2019) contains Dan Korman's “Debunking Arguments.” Click here to find it. I read before it was published and I think it provides a good overview of the subject.

OSAP 56

The latest issue of Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (vol. LVI, Summer 2019) contains two papers on skepticism:

“Sources of Doxastic Disturbance in Sextus Empiricus,” by D. Machuca.

“Augustine's Defence of Knowledge against the Sceptics,” by T. Nawar.

Ancient Skepticism and Modern Fiction

The latest issue of the Italian journal Elenchos includes a paper on ancient skepticism: 

John Christian Laursen, “Ancient Skepticism and Modern Fiction: Some Political Implications,” Elenchos 40 (2019): 199-215. 

It can be found here.

Rationality of Religious Belief

The latest issue of Faith and Philosophy (36, 2019) includes two papers that deal with the rationality of religious belief: Jeroen de Ridder, “Against Quasi-Fideism”; and Jonathan Curtis Rutledge, “Perspectival Skeptical Theism”. Both are open access.

Argumentation in Sextus Empiricus

For what it's worth, this paper of mine is now out in print: “Pyrrhonian Argumentation: Therapy, Dialectic, and Inquiry,” Apeiron 52 (2019): 199-221. Here's the abstract: 

The Pyrrhonist’s argumentative practice is characterized by at least four features. First, he makes a therapeutic use of arguments: he employs arguments that differ in their persuasiveness in order to cure his dogmatic patients of the distinct degrees of conceit and rashness that afflict them. Secondly, his arguments are for the most part dialectical: when offering an argument to oppose it to another argument advanced by a given dogmatist, he accepts in propria persona neither the truth of its premises and conclusion nor the validity of its logical form. Thirdly, he avails himself of arguments in his own open-minded inquiry into the truth about a wide range of topics. Fourthly, Pyrrhonian argumentation is oppositional inasmuch as it typically works by producing oppositions among arguments that appear to the Pyrrhonist to be equipollent. In this article, I focus on the first three features with the aim of both shedding some light on them and determining whether they are in tension or coherently relate to each other.

Pyrrhonian Argumentation

My paper “Pyrrhonian Argumentation: Therapy, Dialectic, and Inquiry” -- forthcoming in Apeiron -- is now available online ahead of print.

Evolutionary Debunking of Morality

The latest issue of Pacific Philosophical Quarterly (vol. 98, issue S1, 2017) contains two papers dealing with evolutionary debunking arguments in ethics: Andrew Moore's “Debunking Morality: Lessons from the EAAN Literature” (here) and Michael Klenk's “Can Moral Realists Deflect Defeat Due to Evolutionary Explanations of Morality?” (here).

Moral Significane of Disgust

Some authors have recently defended a skeptical view on the moral significance of disgust: feelings of disgust are irrelevant to the epistemic justification of moral judgments and norms. An article has just been published in Philosophers' Imprint challenging that view: “Foul Behavior,” by Victor Kumar. It can be accessed for free here.

Sextus's Outlines in the Middle Ages

Quite a few years ago, I read that Roland Wittwer (Berlin) was working on a book about the first Latin translation of Sextus's Pyrrhonian Outlines. The title was supposed to be something like Sextus Latinus: Die erste lateinische Übersetzung von Sextus Empiricus' Pyrrôneioi Hypotypôseis. A couple of days ago, I discovered by chance that in the end he published an article on the issue: “Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism in the Middle Ages,” Vivarium 54 (2016). He calls into question the widely accepted view that Niccolò da Reggio was the author of that Latin translation of the Outlines. To read the article, click here. 

Sextus on Persuasiveness and Equipollence

After two years, the paper “Again on Sextus on Persuasiveness and Equipollence” has finally been included in an issue of the Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie. For those interested, it can be found here.

Neo-Pyrrhonism and Disagreement

My article “A Neo-Pyrrhonian Response to the Disagreeing about Disagreement Argument” has now been included in the latest issue of Synthese. For those interested, it can be found here.

Pyrrhonian Modes

The latest issue of Méthexis (29, 2017) includes Massimo Catapano's “The Two Modes of Scepticism and the Aporetic Structure of Foundationalism.” It can be found here.

The Pyrrhonian Response to the Apraxia Objection

The latest issue of the Croatian Journal of Philosophy (16/3, 2016) contains Filip Grgić’s “Apraxia, Appearances, and Beliefs: The Pyrrhonists’ Way Out.” You can find it here.

Living in Accordance with Skepticism

The latest issue of the Bollettino della Società Filosofica Italiana (219, September/December 2016) contains John Christian Laursen's “The Moral Life of the Ancient Skeptics: Living in Accordance with Nature and Freedom from Disturbance.”

Sanches, Descartes, and Skepticism

To the best of my knowledge, there's not much written about Francisco Sanches's skepticism. So the following paper by Gianni Paganini is a welcome addition to the literature: “Sanches et Descartes. Subjectivité et connaissance réflexive au temps des sceptiques,” Bulletin de la Société internationale des amis de Montaigne 64 (2016): 173-185.

On Sextus on Ethics, Politics, and Music

Two very recent papers on Sextus Empiricus by Emidio Spinelli (Roma):

- “Stoic Utopia Reconsidered: Pyrrhonism, Ethics, and Politics.” In C. Arruzza & D. Nikulin (eds.), Philosophy and Political Power in Antiquity. Brill: Leiden, 2016.

- “Are Flute-Players Better than Philosophers? Sextus Empiricus on Music, against Pythagoras.” In A.-B. Renger & A. Stavru (eds.), Pythagorean Knowledge From the Ancient to the Modern World: Askesis, Religion, Science. Harrassowitz Verlag: Wiesbaden, 2016.

Moore, Wittgenstein, and Skepticism

The latest issue of Nordic Wittgenstein Review (5.2, 2016) includes Nicola Claudio Salvatore's “Moore(anists) and Wittgenstein on Radical Skepticism.” The paper can be found here.