Carneades

This article is about the philosopher. For the genus of longhorn beetles, see Carneades (beetle).

Carneades
Carneades, Roman copy after the statue exhibited on the agora of Athens, c. 150 BC, Glyptothek
Born214/213 BC
Cyrene
Died129/128 BC
Athens
EraHellenistic philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAcademic skepticism, Platonism
Main interests
Epistemology, ethics
Notable ideas
Philosophical skepticism, probabilism,[1] Plank of Carneades
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Carneades (/kɑːrˈniːədiːz/; Greek: Καρνεάδης, Karneadēs, "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC[2]) was a Greek philosopher,[3] perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in ancient Greece.[3] He was born in Cyrene.[4] By the year 159 BC,[citation needed] he had begun to attack many previous dogmatic doctrines, especially Stoicism and even the Epicureans,[5] whom previous skeptics had spared.[citation needed]

As scholarch (leader) of the Academy, he was one of three philosophers sent to Rome in 155 BC where his lectures on the uncertainty of justice caused consternation among leading politicians.[6][7][8] He left no writings.[9] Many of his opinions are known only via his successor Clitomachus. [10] He seems to have doubted the ability not just of the senses but of reason too in acquiring truth. His skepticism was, however, moderated by the belief that we can, nevertheless, ascertain probabilities (not in the sense of statistical probability, but in the sense of persuasiveness)[11] of truth, to enable us to act.[12]

  1. ^ Allen, James. "Carneades". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  2. ^ Dorandi 1999, p. 48.
  3. ^ a b "Carneades | Greek philosopher". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  4. ^ Allen, James. "Carneades". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Born in Cyrene, then a Greek-speaking city on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, Carneades pursued his philosophical studies in Athens
  5. ^ Sharples, R.W. (1995). Honderich, Ted (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0198661320. Criticizing both Stoic and Epicurean views in the debate on freedom and determinism...
  6. ^ Sharples, R.W. (1995). Honderich, Ted (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0198661320. Carneades scandalized Cato the Elder by arguing in favour of justice and against it on successive days
  7. ^ Allen, James (2006). Borchert, David (ed.). Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd ed.). USA: Macmillan Reference. pp. 46–48. ISBN 0028657829. Carneades became scholarch of the Academy (Plato's school) sometime before 155BCE, when he was sent to Rome along with the leaders of the Stoa and the Peripatos (Aristotle's school) to represent the interest of Athens before the senate. It was during the embassy to Rome that the most notorious episode in this life took place. According to tradition, Carneades delivered public lectures on succeeding days, defending justice on the first and arguing that it is a form of folly on the second day.
  8. ^ Barnes, Jonathan (2000). Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Routledge. p. 124. ISBN 0415223644. He was a celebrated figure; and in 155 BC he was sent by Athens to Rome as a political ambassador where he astounded the youth by his rhetorical powers and outraged their elders by his arguments against justice.
  9. ^ Allen, James (2006). Borchert, David (ed.). Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd ed.). USA: Macmillan Reference. pp. 46–48. ISBN 0028657829. Like Arcesilaus and Socrates before him, Carneades wrote nothing, but exerted an influence on his students and contemporaries through his teaching and in-person practice of philosophical debate
  10. ^ Allen, James (2006). Borchert, David (ed.). Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd ed.). USA: Macmillan Reference. pp. 46–48. ISBN 0028657829. What is known of him depends ultimately on works written by those who were in a position to observe him, especially Cliomachus, his student and, after an interval, successor as head of the Academy.
  11. ^ Sharples, R.W. (1995). Honderich, Ted (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0198661320.
  12. ^ Sharples, R.W. (1995). Honderich, Ted (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0198661320.