The Original Sceptics: A Controversy [Paperback]

Myles Burnyeat (Author, Editor), Michael Frede (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0872203476 | ISBN-13: 978-0872203471

These five essays began a debate about the nature and scope of ancient scepticism which has transformed our understanding of what scepticism originally was. Together they provide a vigorous and highly stimulating introduction to the though of the original sceptics, and shed new light on its relation to sceptical arguments in modern philosophy.

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About the Author

Burnyeat and Frede

Product Details

• Paperback: 155 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872203476
• ISBN-13: 978-0872203471
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important collection of essays, August 6, 2006

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G. T. (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Original Sceptics: A Controversy (Paperback)

The five essays contained in this volume are all ground-breaking scholarship. They have been collected and reprinted precisely because of their seminal importance.

The essays are all concerned with Ancient Greek scepticism and are centered on the question of whether and in what sense a sceptic can have beliefs. This is crucial for our understanding of Greek scepticism. Of course, not all scholars agree on the matter. In fact, the three authors of these essays - all of whom are leading experts on Ancient Greek philosophy - don't agree among themselves. But then, as the editors explain in the preface, these essays were not written in order to "present a new scholarly concensus" but rather to revive interest in, and call attention to the philosophical richness of the ancient Greek sceptical tradition which for a long time was little known and even less well understood.

The essays are accessible to the Greekless reader but may be difficult for those who are new to philosophy. They are not written as an introduction to Ancient Greek scepticism, let alone Ancient philosophy or epistemology. However, not only historians of philosophy interested in ancient or early modern philosophy, but all serious students of philosophy, especially epistemology, will benefit greatly from reading these essays.