Greek Scepticism Anti-Realist Trends in Ancient Thought

The idea that Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato is simplistic and inaccurate. Much of modern and contemporary epistemology owes a debt not so much to Platonism or Aristotelianism as to their antithesis: scepticism. Recent discussions in the history of philosophy have sparked a great deal of interest in the ancient sceptics, but until now they have been misunderstood and the significance of their philosophy not fully appreciated.

In Greek Scepticism Leo Groarke presents a more sympathetic and accurate account of Greek scepticism and its relevance to modern and contemporary thought. He begins with an account of the development of scepticism in pre-Socratic times and concludes with a discussion of the relationship of scepticism to modern and contemporary epistemology. Groarke argues that the sceptics posed the problems central to both ancient and modern epistemology, and that in fact scepticism is the ancient analogue of anti-realist trends which are thought to be uniquely modern. He also shows that scepticism is not simply negative, but offers a positive philosophy which mitigates the sceptical critique of knowledge.

Greek Scepticism undermines our usual account of the development of modern epistemology. Groarke shows that the separation of the mind and the external world that is generally attributed to Descartes is actually an integral part of ancient scepticism. In discussing the major problems that stem from this distinction, ancient scepticism anticipates thinkers such as Berkeley, Kant, and Hume. Groarke maintains, controversially, that the doubts of the ancient sceptics are deeper and epistemologically more significant than those of the philosophers usually discussed today.

Review quotes
"[This book] is more extensive in scope than other works in this area, and persuasively challenges them on substantive issues." Kenneth Dorter, Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph.

«[Groarke] démontre une bonne connaissance de la documentation sur les textes sceptiques anciens et modernes.» Yvon Lafrance, Department of Philosophy, University of Ottawa.


Leo Groarke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Wilfrid Laurier University.